


Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: [Inside Story]

by RoadToDusk



Series: Stuck in A Video Game [KH Story] [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-08
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-04-19 18:53:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 137,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4757210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoadToDusk/pseuds/RoadToDusk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been nearly half a year since the events of Kingdom Hearts had first taken place. </p>
<p>Times had changed and friends were separated. With a sense of a lost purpose, Michelle decided to join with an unlikely allies, DiZ and Namine, in order to help the process of waking Sora, Donald, and Goofy with all their memories. Donning the dark cloak, she's now carrying out missions to destroy all heartless, anything that can stop Organization XIII from reaching their goal. However, as the days pass on, her mind begins to fog on if anything she was doing is right. Facing constant challenges, she'll have to fight beside Riku, unwillingly with an Organization member, and old allies of the past. It'll challenge her thoughts, beliefs, and morals on who desires to live or not. </p>
<p>All she knows now who she's fighting to bring back. But....has she been fighting on the right side?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Going Down Hill

** Day 140 **

_“Now what?”_

_“We have to find Riku and the King,”_

_“Michelle?”_

_“I have to find my other friend. She’s still out there; I’m not leaving till I find her too.”_

_“Hmm, but where do we start looking for that there Door to Light?”_

_“Pluto?”_

_“Hey, have you seen King Mickey?”_

_“Guys! Come on!”_

_That day…it was going to be the last time I would ever be with my friends. Then, it all changed._

_*********************************_

“There it is…and there it’s not.”

I huffed aggressively, my eyes darting around the open plaza, attempting to locate where the little imp disappeared off to. If I knew any better I think the heartless were beginning to get better and better at hiding. I carefully scanned the dusty shops when I heard the sound of metal clanking against the ground. It rounded around a corner causing me to sigh in annoyance. I chased after it, swinging around the corner of the building only to see seven more of the heartless, dancing and spinning. The Deserters, the second most annoying heartless I have ever dealt with. They all turned and looked at me for a few moments before they scattered, running around in circles. I slapped my head.

“Here we go again,” I growled, flashing my keyblade in front of me. This was becoming daily for me. Fighting heartless that can clearly out rank me-- by size and or strength—yet I will keep fighting them all by my lone self.

“HA!” I managed to catch one in the corner and with a graceful spin, I destroyed it. The sound of panicked footsteps stopped and I turned to see all the other heartless had frozen in position. All those golden orbs simultaneously stared at where I was and I brought my blade up. “All right, who’s next?” I demanded cockily. At the same time, all the heartless jumped towards my direction causing me to jump out of there way, allowing them to hit the wall behind me. I raised a hand up and pointed it in their direction.

“Thundara!”

The lightning spell took out two of them but the rest managed to get away. My eyes wandered around, counting quickly on how many were left. Five, not bad. I swung my bleeding hearts keyblade around and charged forward.

One jumped into the air, claws extended out but I managed to block it. I swung around and strike it on the head before turning and slamming the body back to hit another heartless that jumped. “Fira!” I shouted. The flames exploding between the two heartless and black dust surfaced from where the two heartless were. The remaining three leapt at me and I jumped back. I hated fighting in this uniform. Yeah the Organization outfit; sure it may look cool but not when you’re fighting in the sun. Especially in the hot and in a little place known as Agrabah, it becomes a bit of a nuisance. The three heartless spun around, casting sand to nearly hit my face unless I pulled my hood up. But that still didn’t help as I felt a spray of sand hit my face. Well…at least my eyes were closed at the moment. My mouth not so much.

“Tch!”

A heartless lunged forward, spinning quickly through the air and grazed past my shoulder, cutting through the fabric of the coat. I grimaced, knowing I was going to feel that one later on but I had to focus on the other two. I held my keyblade up, sighing faintly as two of the Deserters jumped up into the air. I moved my arm back and I readied myself. One more second, then they would be in the perfect position. I narrowed my eyes; kind of wishing time would just move it and let me finish them off. Then it came.

“Strike Raid!” I yelled and tossed my keyblade at them. It whirled around in the air, slashing the two heartless in half before making a U-turn in the air. I smirked and leaped up to grab my keyblade. 

“Sweet!” I cheered.  Mission accomplished!

I grinned in victory, about to punch the air when I saw something from the corner of my eye. Oh shit. I forgot the last one. I turned with the ready intent of throwing my keyblade when suddenly the heartless was destroyed, the tiny pink heart rising up into the air.  Uh…mission accomplished….?

“Huh?” I blinked a few times, looking around in confusion. Wait, there’s no one else here expect— “And I thought you said you could handle it by yourself.”

My shoulders slumped at the cocky tone.

‘And speak of the devil.’

I felt my brow twitch. That voice. It could only be _him._  Reluctantly, I turned to the opposite direction. He was standing against the wall of a building, a shadow being casted over him making him look even more freaking mysterious. It’s all too convenient for him. I could only imagine his theme is freaking playing in the background. I frowned, putting my hands on my hips and looked at him.

“I could handle being by myself on missions!” I retorted. I can, have been, and probably will be on future missions.

On the other hand, it bothered me that he was here in the first place. Since when did he join side with DiZ? It was only recently that he had appeared out of nowhere to offer his help. I merely got the minor talk of Riku can help with some missions now, but you know, the majority is still yours to do. Pfft, I can, I’ve been doing it for the past three months. I hadn’t talked much to Riku since he had joined, yet this week he’s been on every single mission. Ugh, why….why did he have to--oh yeah, cause I can’t open up dark portals with a flick of my wrist!

I shook my head, sighing under my breath before glancing back at Riku. He didn’t have his hood on, his silver hair flowing beyond his shoulders. He too wore the Organization outfit but…he also wore a black blindfold. Yet somehow, he still manages to see where I am. I don’t understand how that works. I should know better by now. I tried waving my hand in front of his face when I thought he might’ve been sleeping. He freaking scared the living hell out of me afterwards by stating he could see me. Errr….I’m starting to get off track here.

“So we’re done with the mission?” I demanded, resting a hand on my hip while the other pulled my hood down. I winched from the sheer brightness, man, do I wish for sunglasses sometimes. Made especially for combat in Agrabah. Ahhh that would be a bliss.

Riku nodded causing me to let out a sigh in relief. I watched as he held up a hand and a dark portal opened. A flicker of distrust ran through me but I got over it. It always happened, I never trusted the darkness yet I always had to deal with it. I walked over to Riku and glanced over into the darkness. I was kind of glad we were done with the mission but now came the part where we had to go through the dark portal. Now, the bad thing about those portals is that someone like me can pretty much die if they tried charging on in there without protection like the Organization coat (Expect Kairi…) but even if I wear the coat and go in, there’s still a risk of something happening. What it is I don’t know and I really, really hope I never find out. I shook my head, disregarding the thought before following Riku into the darkness.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“I’ll report to DiZ—”

“No, let me. DiZ probably wants to hear from me anyways.” My voice echoed off the cracked, dusty walls.

Jeez, I sound pretty loud. Curse the quietness of this manor. I winched faintly, eyeing around the inside of the mansion. Sometimes I feel like there’s ghost haunting this place. It kind of freaks me out. Especially since this whole place has spiders crawling around the place. Riku didn’t argue nor made any sort of comments afterwards. In a way, this was the only reason so far why I haven’t snapped at him yet. At least Riku can be tolerable at times. Fully opening the doors, I looked around noticing Riku had already disappeared causing me to raise a brow. How the— I’ll never understand how he can disappear that fast. I looked around for a few moments before entering the mansion. The door creaked loudly while a fresh breeze entered the stuffy old mansion. I closed the door behind me and began walking. Climbing up the stairs, I began heading to the library. Opening the door, my eyes just began to wander around. So many books filled the walls. I wanted to read them but since I’ve been busy, I’m probably not going to get to. Besides, they’re written in another dialect, I’ve never seen this writing before. I shrugged, walking over to the wall and put my hand into the wall.

It glowed faintly and the next thing I hear is the sound of metal sliding. Turning around, the floor had completely moved and revealed DiZ’s secret little computer lab. I snickered faintly to myself. That my friends, is how you hide secret computers rooms. Under moveable floors, of course. Darkness surrounded me till eventually the light of the computer screen got me. I blinked a few times, trying to adjust my eyes to the light. The sound of typing entered the atmosphere. You all should already know how typing sounds like, tap, tap, tap. Yeah, the constant tapping noise that could go on and on, and on— a pause in the typing caused me to look up. Guess not.

“You’re finished with your mission?”  The deep, authoritative voice demanded. The sound of typing resumed and I crossed my arms, a sigh softly escaping from my mouth. “Yes”

“And the heartless?”

“None left, I made sure of it.” A hum of approval was a response from him and he stood up from the large computer screen that contained various codes, blue prints, and stuff I couldn’t even read because it was in another language. The man dressed in red, a lot of it resembling bandages and it even covered his face, DiZ, turned to look over at me.

“The Organization is beginning to notice our endeavors, they’ve sent there two keybladers on more missions to collect more hearts.” A frown formed upon my lips and it seemed he also had a frown somewhere under his mask.

“I know I’ll make sure they don’t get in my way” I said nonchalantly. The two can’t be so bad, right? I knew there was Roxas…but I didn’t know there was another keyblader amongst the Organization. Who could this person be? Could—could it be _her_? Ugh, I felt a headache coming on and I resisted the urge to put my hand on my forehead. DiZ studied me for a moment before turning to face the computer. He pressed a few buttons then a picture popped up.

“I should inform you, Michelle, that it seems that Namine’s progression of returning Sora’s memories is slowing.” DiZ informed me. I straightened up from my slouch and my full attention was focused on what DiZ said. Wait…what?!

“What?!” I demanded immediately. I took a few steps forward, looking at the computer to see the evidence. A lot of the coding was beyond my knowledge, 

“It seems as if something is slowing down Sora’s progression or more so. She said it could simply be his memories being scattered, harder to collect than even she anticipated.” DiZ explained further, showing a chart of some sort.

Does he realize by now that I can’t read whatever language he uses? At least I can understand the picture. Whatever is going on, it’s going to become a huge problem for me and probably for Riku and Namine as well. I felt my hands begin to ball up and I tried resisting clenching my teeth. Nothing was getting any easier was it?

“So what should I do then? Is there anything I can do?” I asked DiZ, trying to hold back my tone towards him. DiZ was not a man I was expecting to please anytime soon, but I knew I shouldn’t sass him. We should all know is very hard for me to do. DiZ turned, his amber eye meeting with my own brown eyes before turning fully towards me.

“I do not know what the cause of this misdemeanor is but I do expect that with more of the hearts we prevent the Organization from getting, the more likely this will fix itself on its own.” DiZ explained.

I crossed my arms, humming softly to myself. All right, basically he’s just telling me to continue destroying heartless, that’s easy enough. Yet I can tell from the tone in his voice he was trying to suggest something. That whatever may be causing this is what I should take out the moment I find out what it is. If it’s Roxas, I don’t think I would be able to do it. I breathed in and out from my nose, trying to think of all the possibilities of avoiding this but…I didn’t have any. Unlike my two previous journeys (which I will say I am lucky to be alive at this point especially) I don’t know what’s going on. Being stuck in the Kingdom Hearts games was hard enough but at least I knew what to expect and prepare myself but this…I don’t know what’s happening. It’s kind of cool but it irritates me so much I can’t stand it! I kind of wish there was something for this, I feel like there is something to explain everything that is going on but I know I’m not going to find out unless by some miracle! I shook my head and looked at DiZ.

“So that’s it? Just keep doing what I’ve been doing?”

“Yes, you can go now. I have a mission planned for tomorrow,” Oh great, planning my schedule already. I frowned faintly before sighing faintly, bowing my head forward before turning on my heel, taking my leave from his darken room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I closed the door behind me, sighing loudly in annoyance and slid down to the ground.

“I’m doomed!” I moaned, sliding down even more till I was lying down on the ground. I slapped my hands over my face, trying to prevent a headache from coming. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. All that has happened so far and all that’s happening now are beginning to confuse me! I don’t know what’s up or down anymore really!

“I just need to know if what I’m doing isn’t going to become a mistake in the future,” I murmured.

I sat up, rubbing my cheek with the back of my hand before deciding to head to bed. Might as well get some sleep before I start those missions tomorrow. It’ll probably be another few days away from the mansion. I was ready to get up when something thumped close by. What was that? My eyes scanned around till I found the source of the noise. I blinked hesitantly, cautiously walking over to the spot where the blue device laid against the sheets. When I studied the object further, I could only halt as my realizations drew improbable questions.

“What?” My voice really captured how shocked I was at that moment. I reached forward, sliding the blue device through my fingers, rubbing the smooth surface and studied the condition of the electronic. Is this my D.S…my Nintendo D.S?!

How…how and why did it come here??

My hand brushed the surface of the D.S, my mind buzzing with the curious questions of why it was here. It was here, in my hands, and there was a game in it. Blinking a few times, I poked at the slot of the game till it popped open. I stared at the little card for what felt like a looooooong time. This was it. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that after Chains of Memories that I had a horrible feeling I was stuck in another game in the series. But I didn’t know what since I never finished CoM. But it looks like I have the answer now. I took the game from the D.S and held it up into the light.

“Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.” I read slowly.

My brows scrunched together in confusion. What does that mean? 358/2 Days? It could it be the days of a year or something, wait a second. I tilted my head, looking at the micro information within the game. I’ve never heard of this game before…it says it recently came out, 2009. Wow….it’s already 2009. I tilted my head, still examining the game curiously. Was this really a gift from above, could this be Hoshi who did this? To give me a heads-up for what's ahead. I exhaled, rubbing my forehead as I looked outside, submerging myself within the hues of red in the sky. All I knew for now was I had my proof. I was in another game and I knew my days were just going to keep going downhill from here on.


	2. The Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New chapter, new story, i'm excited~ Can't wait to dive into this story more~ Thanks for the support, I hope you all have a lovely day. Enjoy this chapter!

**_ Day 150 _ **

 “HA!”

I flinched at the loud sound and suddenly pressed the little wireless device against myself, to drown out the sound of fighting. I looked around, wondering if Namine or Riku heard the noises. Wait, I knew better, I was currently hanging in the abandon dining room. Riku is gone off on a mission, DiZ is still down stairs, and Namine is working in the room above. My eyes wandered around for a few minutes before I decided to focus back on the ‘game’. This is too surreal. This was kind of a wakeup call for me, I was slowly forgetting that this place, all these worlds, are technically not real from where I come from. Though technically they are real—now.  

Ugh! I’m not even going to bother questioning myself on this.

I leaned against the chair, pressing the A button several times just to attack the heartless. Oh the beauty of video games, I nearly forgot why I love you! I’m surprised I still can play this right now. I’m currently in a…difficult situation right now you could say. It’s been four days since the mysterious D.S and Kingdom Hearts game appeared and I’ve been trying to play it every living chance I get. But unfortunately that was only for two hours the first day I got it. After that, I was sent off to Halloween Town for another mission for two days. Completing missions were already a hand full on my agenda but trying to come back as consciously possible in order to a play a game was killing me. I rubbed my temple, still smashing the A button as I decided to look up at the ceiling. This is such a strange game, Roxas being the main character…not that I’m complaining. Yeah…that definitely is different. I’m kind of curious now. This is definitely going to help me out in the future somehow, I really hope it does. After not knowing what occurred in Castle Oblivion, I rather appreciate the clutch of knowledge I obtain.

 “Let’s go.”

I shook my head and focused back on the game. I’m on Day 32 and I’m about to head to Agrabah with Xigbar. I laughed gently, shaking my head.

“The irony of it all. Working to stop the Organization but game, you’re making me work for them! How could you?!” I demanded

Then that’s when I heard it. I froze, my eyes immediately darting towards the door. Crap--turn the game off, no wait, save first! I messed with the buttons, looking back up and down till I saw it had saved and I slammed the D.S shut. Just in time too. The door opened up and I silently slipped the D.S into my pocket. And the person behind the doorway is revealed to be Namine. I sighed out in relief, putting a hand over my chest feeling that it was beating rather fast. Man, for a second I thought it was DiZ looking for me to send me off on another mission. I grinned faintly staring at the blonde nobody who stood by the door.

“Michelle—Riku is looking for you.”

Nope, forget that. My face visibly changed from relief to utter disbelief. I groaned in annoyance, leaning against the chair and threw my head back.

“What?!” I complained.

Why is he looking for me?! And more importantly, why couldn’t HE just come and find me?! Namine smiled apologetically at me, clutching her notebook tenderly in her hands. I glanced over at her, looking at the dark lines under her eyes and frowned absentmindedly. DiZ is going too far with this. He needs to let Namine have a break. At least for a day. She needs sleep for pete sakes! I know we’re trying to bring back Sora’s memories and all but I’m currently concerned that Namine is going to pass out and won’t be able to do anything for a few days and DiZ is going to be pissed—oh jeez, I can imagine it now!

“What does he want now?” I decided to ask her, hoping that she would know.

“He needs to ask you something. He just came back from his mission,” She explained softly. My god, sometimes I have to lean forward to hear her, she’s so quiet. Either that or I’m going deaf. …..I really hope it’s not the later. But now that I think about it, why does Riku want to talk to me. From up to this point, we really haven’t talked. It was more, I deal with him on my missions and we finish it. I pursed my lips together before sitting up straight.

“Well…that’s unusual” I pointed out.

I decided to get up, stretching my arms above my head. Namine’s blue eyes stared at me concerningly as I walked over towards the door. Just as I went to reach over to the door handle, I paused. I had this weird…paranoid feeling suddenly. I felt my heart pound hard against my chest but I swallowed up and turned my head slightly towards Namine. 

“Namine, nobody knows, right?” I asked her awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck with my free hand. Namine tilted her head before shaking it gently, understanding what I was referring to.

“Of course not, I still haven’t told anyone about it.” Namine answered immediately. She raised a brow, staring at me in concern. Well…if that was possible for a nobody of course. “Is something wrong, Michelle?”

“No, no. I was just wondering.” I answered nonchalantly.

Why did I just have this weird feeling that somebody else knew about my little ‘situation’. Maybe it’s just paranoia. I hate that suspicious feeling that haunts me. I shook my head and opened up the door only to stop again. “Uh, Namine, where is Riku by the way?” Namine’s eyes widen, a little flustered that she forgot about that little important piece of information.

“He’s out in the back Garden.” Namine informed me causing me to look over past the stairs.

The door to the Garden was cracked open, revealing the colorful filled sky, a twinge of darkness seemed to have eclipse the normal red and orange hues adding a marvelous array of purples and blues too. Sighing once more to myself, I turned to look at Namine and offered her a half smile.

“Hey, get some sleep while you still can Namine. You look exhausted.” I said carefully. Namine blinked a few times before casting her stare down to the floor. I quirked my lips, already having a slight feeling what she was thinking about. We all thought about him. Yet, nobody did more than Namine. I feel like she’

“I’ll be all right for now. I want to catch up on some drawings,” She murmured. I stared at her for a bit before nodding. I didn’t want to push her into doing something she didn’t want to do. “All right, just be careful” I warned comfortingly.  

I exited the room and closed the door gently behind me. I sighed faintly before turning and headed towards the glass doors. Turning the handle, I had to be extra careful cause last time…I kind of snapped it off. My god, this mansion is old. Taking a step into the dusk I found what I was looking for rather quickly. Riku was there as Namine said he would be. He was just standing there, glancing upwards towards the sky. I looked around for a second before closing the door and began walking over to him.

“Hey,” I called out, “You wanted to see me for some strange reason I would assume.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, tilting my head to the side. Riku didn’t respond, for nearly five minutes straight, I felt like I was staring at a wall or something. I raised a brow, now becoming concerned about what EXACTLY happened. Although we didn’t get crazily along, we still had to work together so I couldn’t completely ignore him. The crickets were even making more of a conversation then he was.

“…How was the mission at Beast’s Castle?” I asked carefully, lowering my arms to my side. Riku turned to look at me again, stupid moonlight, everything made him look cooler. I rolled my eyes slightly, fixated more on his fingers as they drummed along his arms.

“It was….different” He answered coolly.

“Different? Different how?” I repeated, raising a brow. How could the mission be any more different than it already is? I mean, we go in, kick some heartless ass, then leave. What else could’ve happened? Especially, what else could’ve happened that is making Riku seem so…distant right now?

“I ran into an Organization XIII member.” He answered.

My heart skipped a beat at the sound, my voice coming out hesitantly, “Wait, you’re okay though right?! Who was it?!”

I hope it wasn’t Xaldin, no, Riku’s fine though. Maybe it could’ve been Demyx….well….that was plausible. Demyx is rather easy to scare. I did it by accident when I whacked a heartless during a mission in the Underworld. I didn’t even know he was there until I heard the screaming.

“Someone new…someone neither of us have dealt with yet.” He answered cryptically causing me to frown at his choice of wording. He looked like he was going to continue but paused, probably recalling the moment or something. And who was new in the Organization……oh my god. My eyes slowly widen in realization. I know who he met.

“What was strange about her was that she wielded a fake keyblade” Riku added, sounding deep in thought about it at the moment.

I gulped faintly, rubbing the back of my neck. Xion has a fake keyblade, wait, Riku already met her? Ugh, there’s too many questions I need answered. The urge to run off, lock myself into a secluded area and never stop playing that game until I learned what the heck happen was nearly unbearable at the moment. I couldn’t, not right now. I had to figure out what the heck happened between Riku and Xion!

“So….what happened after that?” I decided to ask.He glanced up towards the moon, staring at it for a few seconds. “Told her to stop hanging out with the Organization and then left. That’s it” Riku answered.

I looked at Riku questionably. Well, it’s not a bad thing to say. If I had the chance, I would’ve told Roxas to run away. He doesn’t deserve the fate he has coming. if I hadn’t known better, I would’ve kept pestering him with questions about this confrontation but that would be pushing my limits on already hearing this news for the first time. Speaking of, this is pretty odd for him to be telling me of all people about what had happened on his mission. He could’ve easily told Namine this instead of me.

I crossed my arms, looking up at the sunset sky, blinking a few times to adjust my eyes to the light. It was really pretty. Wow, I haven’t really taken a time to look at the sunset in a while. Wow…time has really passed by….my god. I hummed faintly at it, letting the information soak into my subconscious and letting me begin to process it.

“Well…this certainly is going to be an interesting time…” I muttered in response. I crossed my arms behind my neck, sighing softly. “But it’s going to suck for us…if DiZ finds out there’s another Organization member that can use the keyblade…” I stopped, realizing what I was about to say. Oh my god. If DiZ finds out…it’s going to be the end for us both. Non-stop missions.

“Then we’re basically screwed…” I finished awkwardly after a long pause.

It was still too much for my mind to comprehend. I literally wanted to shiver in fear about the thought of being put to do even MORE work.

“That’s what I was thinking” Riku murmured in agreement. He shoved his hands into his pocket and looked in my general direction.  “Which is the main reason why I asked for you to come here.”

I raised an eyebrow. So it wasn’t just to tell me about Xion, I guess he knew that this was coming as well. He took a few steps forward till he came near me, standing a few inches taller than me. “Everything I just told you, don’t let DiZ find out.” He narrowed his eyes to the side.

“Though I know he’s going to eventually figure it out. This girl, we gotta figure out more about her…” He declared. I blinked a few times. Is he doing what I think he’s doing? Proposing a proposition I believe? I stared at Riku suspiciously, humming lightly.

“Something’s…different about her” He finished causing my curiosity to go nuts. Why could be different about Xion?! Well…beside the fact that she can use the keyblade and she was in the Organization that for sure. Hmm, maybe even the fact that I never even heard about her until I actually began playing the game!

“You…you want to start looking into the Organization XIII activities…don’t you?” I deciphered from that.

He simply nodded. I sighed faintly. Oh man, we’re going into some deep, dangerous territories right now. How the heck are we going to do this? Is it possible that we can do this? Keep in disguise, finish the missions we’re assigned to; all at the same time of trying to gain information on Organization XIII? I narrowed my eyes to the side, turning around and hummed in thought. There could be some pros in this, probably less pros then cons, but those pros can prove extremely valuable. It could even be possible I’ll be able to meet Xion and Roxas. That may actually be pretty cool. I wouldn’t mind meeting them, if they’re not bent on beating me up.  I turned my head towards Riku’s direction and nodded.

“All right, I’ll help.” I declared, pumping my fist up.

“Remember, this is going to be dangerous. We have to be careful with this,” I crossed my arms behind my back, glancing up towards the moonlight, “If anyone finds out we’re doing this or if we get caught—” A memory whizzed by in my mind, flames and a chakram nearly cutting into my neck belonging to assassin Nobody Axel. I shivered, gripping my sleeves tightly. Wow, I would think something like that would happen to me again.

“I hope you realize the dangers if you decide to help me” He warned me. I mentally sweat dropped.

“I realized them way before you even decided to talk about this with me.” I responded with a monotone voice. It was true, just being with the guy is a danger to my wellbeing. I shouldn’t be thinking about it right now. I heard Riku sigh slightly before crossing his own arms.

“Remember, this maybe the last time we may see each other for a while.” Riku reminded me. I paused, glancing over to him with a questionably brow. What?

“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked. I could only imagine Riku's eyes narrowing to glance to the side. “I have a mission DiZ wants me to do, it could take a couple weeks to finish” He answered.

Weeks...WEEKS?! He expects me to try and gain information on the Organization by myself? It shouldn’t be TOO hard since I already known the main plans of the Organization. I just have to dig a little more into their other plans. Yet he knows I’m not good at being sneaky. I exhaled, rubbing my neck and nodded in acknowledgement. I hope he realizes the responsibility he’s putting on me.

“Do you think you'll be able to handle it by yourself for a while?” Riku asked me. I let my arms drop to the side and nodded. “I should be fine on my own for now...” I looked back at him. “Don't overdo it on these missions Riku..” He didn't met my gaze or even moved for that matter. So I decided to take my leave then. I clapped my hands together.

“All right, this shouldn’t be so hard!” I said positively. I turned around and headed towards the door of the mansion. “See ya later Riku” Giving a two finger salute to Riku, I walked back into the mansion with a small smile on my face. Then it turned into a panicked one.

“We’re dead, we are so dead” I said slowly in disbelief. Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into? I’m dead! CURSE RIKU!  What am I going to do?! Oh my god, I hope he doesn’t ask me one day to head into Castle Oblivion to check out the computers that are probably there still. But that can be another day in the future...hopefully.

I gulped and turned towards the stairs and began heading up. I needed to lay down, just get some sleep and put the thoughts behind myself.

*********************

I’m a horrible person.

I was currently tapping the buttons rapidly, trying to not let out a frustrated growl against those spinning heartless that love to annoy me!  I needed to know what happened. So I decided to play the game for a few more hours. I have no idea how long I have been playing for actually. Yet I discovered more information than I expected to.

I sat on the bed, letting the information sink in. Why did Riku call himself the biggest Nobody of them all, exactly who is Xion, who is her somebody, why did Xion have to scream in agony afterwards. Oh jeez, that sounded painful. Really didn’t expect a nobody to be screaming. Maybe Riku was right. She certainly is different. I could only wonder what her story is. It looks like it’s going to be difficult to understand exactly who she is. Or maybe even what she is. I blinked a few times at the thought that she might not even be a nobody but shook my head.

_‘Nah, I don’t think it’s possible.’_ I pondered logically.

My eyes narrowed to the side of my bedroom. I noticed the curtain was slightly moved revealing a small light. Heh? I paused the game and walked over to the curtains. Moving them out of the way…I could only stare. Ehhh.

“It--it's mo-morning already?”

 No way. NO WAY?! I MANAGED TO STAY AWAKE THE WHOLE NIGHT?!

I was ready to rip my hair out at the moment in disbelief. Oh jeez! Suddenly I heard a knock on my door and I jumped. I turned and gulped faintly. Fixing my hair slightly, I went to the door and opened it up to reveal Riku. Shit. Morning meant work, work meant Riku, Riku meant…..well Riku.

“DiZ wants you to start a mission soon, you got 10 minutes to get ready.” Riku warned me before shutting the door on my face. I blinked a few times.

“I’m so done with today.”


	3. Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of filler chapters are kind of happening right now, kind of a slow start but trust me, it's going to become a crazy ride from the next few chapters along. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, until next time~

**_ Day 154 _ **

I could do nothing but sit outside, letting my legs hang off the edge of the roof. Having recently returned from my mission, I found myself wandering into seclusion, my mind entangled in its own thoughts. My fingers were laced, drumming gently on my knuckles as I glanced towards the Clock Tower a distance away. I could imagine those two were sitting there right now, having their chats and enjoying some sea-salt ice cream. Heh, it must've been nice to be up there, seeing the entire town all lit up in the glow. I stared off into the sunset, admiring it for a while.

Hmm…this new journey I’m taking, it’s rather a peculiar one.

Unlike the way Roxas's life is being counted down by days, I can only imagine it’s been a few months already. Since Kingdom Hearts was closed up, since I was separated from my friends, since I've gotten to known Namine and DiZ, and how I was slowly understanding more about Organization XIII than ever before. I’ve tried to keep track here and there, having a journal to write down my thoughts and memories during my journey through Castle Oblivion then some afterwards, but even then, those have been scattered through the winds.

I tilted my head slightly as I narrowed my eyes. If I had to guess, I feel like I’ve been hanging out in Twilight Town for about two months now. Heh, time seems to be flying by. Glancing longingly at the sunset, my thoughts began to wander away. Back to the days of Castle Oblivion, back to the decisions I had made on a fly.

 “I wonder why—out of all places—DiZ choose this mansion for a base.” I murmured lowly. I slowly shut my eyes, recalling that moment when we first got here.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_“Here?”_

_I looked up to the building in disbelief, blinking a few times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. The large mansion was completely boarded up, the grass had been unkempt and a variety of plant life seemed to be growing around the sides of the building. The windows were shut expect for one particular window on the left side of the building, a white curtain flapping eerily._

_I guess Pence was right about the whole “Ghost girl” wonder of Twilight Town. The curtains really made it seem like somebody was up there...watching you. Honestly this place gave me the chills. Yet this was a place of interest to DiZ, claiming that he had been here once before._

_I glanced to DiZ who seemed to be studying the landscape before looking towards the building once more. “Yes. I am sure this would make a suitable relocation for our mission to continue.” DiZ said. His fingers curled inwards his palms, resting on his sides. I raised a brow before glancing back towards the mansion._

_“Michelle if you would mind opening this lock for us to proceed?” DiZ's attention was directed to the overly large lock on the dark metal gate in front of us._

_I blinked once before nodding. I raised up my arm and in a flash of red light, my Bleeding Hearts keyblade was gripped tightly in my possession. I pointed it towards the keyhole and focused. The tip of the keyblade illuminated and a ray of light shot out of it, connecting to the keyhole of the gate. A loud click followed and slowly the lock unhinged itself and fell to the ground with a loud thud._

_The gate creaked loudly as it slowly opened itself before coming to a screechy stop. I looked to the other two to see DiZ begin to approach the mansion first while Namine stayed behind, glancing towards the opened window. I walked over to her, also looking up._

_“You know, after this we could head up to check that room out,” I offered her, catching her attention, “Who knows...maybe you could call it yours soon.” Namine blinked once before smiling sweetly at the gesture. I returned the smile and walked alongside Namine to the mansion’s doors._

_Once we had managed to tear down the boarded doors, it was a simple twist of the door knob to enter. Inside however, my eyes wandered around in awe, searching towards the high ceiling then to the floor to what remained in this building. Glass containers that held stuff were smashed and broken glass was all on the floor. I bit my lip, glancing over to the back to see the garden was clearly overrun by vegetation as well. And worst of all. There were spider webs.......EVERYWHERE._

_I could feel my eye twitch as I stared at a particularly large cobweb that hanged right in the corner of this place. I wonder if I use fire on it, it'll disappear. Would the spiders disappear though, or would they come back for revenge. My thoughts lingered while I could see the dust particle flickering through the light from outside. I could feel my nose twitch and I had a strong urge to sneeze but I stopped that from happening._

_“This is rather large space and I have a feeling this world will be able to hide our activities,” DiZ seemed to be talking to himself, mentally taking notes. “Yes...this residence will due...” DiZ murmured. I crossed my arms and I raised a brow while Namine moved towards the center of the room and looked into the only glass container that had not been broken._

_“How are we going to be able to move all the pods here? And especially what about that computer—” DiZ held up a hand causing me to stop as he glanced down at me with a golden eye. “I have that all taken care of—but what's important right now is to secure a safe location within this mansion where we could put them...”_

_I rested my chin on the heel of my palm, humming softly in thought. My attention drifted from Namine and DiZ to up the staircase towards the door on the left hand side. I wonder….if the computer room in this mansion even exists yet. If there's nothing in there, we could always move things over to get everything flowing. My eyes narrowed slightly. With the Organization slowly sending people into Castle Oblivion to check for something, I’m starting to fear that it'll be only a matter of time before they find us._

_The light shimmered through the glass windows creating a glare in my vision. I shook my head, focusing out the window to see the orange skies of Twilight Town. I blinked slowly before looking towards the right, where the door to the library was at. I suppose...I could help them out a bit._

_“I think...I know the place…” I remarked, slowly turning towards the right staircase._

_DiZ and Namine followed my view and looked towards the direction I was looking at. Eventually we had entered the library and as it turns out, there was never a floor to begin with. It was just a dark staircase that led to the basement. Did someone use this place before us?_

_DiZ turned to look at me, a smile forming underneath the red wraps. “This is exactly what we needed,”_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I slowly opened my eyes once again as I found myself staring off at the same sunset once again.  It's been two months so far since all that happened. Now we at least don't have to worry as much about the Organization finding us but it's still a great possibility. For now, I guess we'll have to keep a low profile while I continue silently taking out the heartless. I hummed absentmindedly as I leaned back, resting my hands on the tile of the roof. You know, now that I think about it...how the heck am I going to get down from here?

I frowned, realizing my current situation. Riiiight, that's why I was on the roof. Beside the fact it was a great place for privacy, Riku did abandon me here via the portal. Gun….damn that silverette. I rubbed the back of my head, scoffing.

“Jeez Riku, why the heck did you end up having that dark portal dropping me off here of all places? Was it really too much to ask to be put on the ground?” I questioned. Silence was what answered my question, yet in the back of my mind I could see a playfully smirk. Ugh, at least I was in the world I was supposed to be, unlike the last time, I ended up staying in Agrabah for two days.

I rested my hand on my chin, humming in aggravation as I glanced towards the ground then to my hands. The black coat was weird. I know I’m wearing something underneath this but it's like this thing smooth over the clothes you’re wearing and fits on to you perfectly. Kind of creepy, yet works great with these new dark combat boots. Unfortunately the sneakers had to retire at some point. I clicked my feet together, circling them around as I continued to stare downwards, wondering if I could make it down safely without breaking my legs or something. (Although multiple times while traveling through other worlds I fell, it was like a curse or something to fall...)

I slapped my head, sighing lowly before throwing my head upwards. Damn it Riku, I need to get to a mission soon in Agrabah! Why couldn't he put me on the freaking ground!?  Guhh, he still got on my nerves...well...at least it's...not as bad as before. And...Although we have our problems, we still help each other out. I crossed my arms, looking upwards wondering why we even decided to help each other, regardless of what had happened in Hollow Bastion My eyes narrowed as the memory resurfaced.

 “Right, Castle Oblivion. That's where Riku, the King, and I promised to help each other out.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_“I—I liiive,” I slowly pushed opened the door, sighing in utter relief as I came to a hallway that seemed more open than the other ones. This must've been the entrance hall of Castle Oblivion. Ha! I made it! I really did it!_

_I managed to survive getting killed by Nobodies, survived loosing, mix arranging of my memories, and fought against members of the Organization. I even managed to take some members out, or whatever the case they were. I jumped up and down, clutching the dark jacket in the meantime before allowing the door to close behind me. I skipped down the steps and leapt on to the floor. I dropped the jacket onto the floor and proceeded on doing a cartwheel, absolutely ecstatic that I was able to survive the events of Castle Oblivion._

_But...._

_The adrenaline that ran through me slowly seeped out as I remembered the facts. My eyes dropped to the ground and I sighed lowly, pushing my hair to the side. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were asleep now, thanks to Namine offering them a chance to fix their memories. I wonder what would've happened if I had accepted her offer to fix mines too._

_Well...was it even possible?_

_I mean, I had so many secrets and information that if she even tried getting rid of them it may be a danger to herself. I wouldn't want to risk that. She was too nice, even if she was a Nobody. I smiled faintly as I glanced upwards to the ceiling. “Sleep tight you guys, we'll see each other soon enough” I promised._

_Now I would have to wait one entire year for them to wake up. My god...what am I supposed to do in the meantime. I frowned, crossing my arms. The offer that DiZ gave me still echoed in my head. Should I...help him? At least that would be able to pass the time._

_“Maybe...but...” I glanced towards the doorway as I thought about the Organization members that I had encountered in there. Axel, Zexion, Marluxia, Larxene, Flare, Nelixad, and Dekrex. I assume that Marluxia, Larxene, and Zexion were gone while Nelixad was taken out by a fellow comrade and I was the one who took out Dekrex._

_Flare and Axel were probably the only ones that managed to get out. I halted, humming softly at the idea of those disappearing. In all honesty, I didn’t want to know what happened to the two Nobodies.  Axel is weird, being like a bi-polar, ‘I'll help you but I won't and let's fight!’ and Flare was a similar situation yet more condescending. DiZ would be going against these guys in order to help Sora...but would I be ready to help him?_

_Then my thoughts went to Riku. I knew he had to be here in the Castle as well. That clone of his had to come from somewhere. The likeliness of this Replica was insane, it nearly drove me to fight the REAL Riku when I actually encountered him in one of the halls. Not that it was really hard to tell either, but I guess my pent up rage from the first game hit its peak with the Replica. “Okay, you really gotta stop jumping to conclusion about people...maybe he's not so bad...” I feel like I’m in denial right now about that._

_I pouted, my mind beginning to argue about the pros and cons of Riku. There were too many and honestly I would be here for the next week trying to conclude something about that silverette. I thought I heard something but disregarded it as my thoughts fought against each other._

_“Wait...Michelle?” I froze at the sound of the voice. Oh speak of the denial._

_I turned around to see Riku was there at the doorway. I blinked a few times before suddenly-- I was stuttering incoherently and pointing a finger at him. “R-R-Riku! Wh-what are you doing here?!” I demanded. The silver haired boy's gaze went over to me and I noticed his eyes widen in shock as well._

_“Michelle? So it's really you?” He looked at me cautiously that seemed to mirror my own cautious stare. I guess....we both had encounters with a lot of stuff in this place._

_I lowered my defense down slightly as I crossed my arms over my chest, tilting my head to the side and pointed lazily at him. “Wait a second, the last time I saw you was when we closed Kingdom Hearts! You were on the other side with Mic—I mean King Mickey!” I really have to begin to start calling him King Mickey or else I’m doomed and will be dubbed as not respectful._

_Riku's eyes widen slightly when suddenly someone else appeared beside Riku and my eyes widen. And speak of the mouse! I blinked rapidly, my incoherent words bubbling once again as I began pointing from Riku to Mickey._

_“King Mickey! You're here too?! Ugh!” I slapped my head. I was so confused. This is what I get for not playing Chains of Memories! I only managed to get so far with Sora! I never got the chance to see Riku's side! So this was obviously a little weird to see now._

_King Mickey moved over to Riku's side and his expression lightened up instantly. “Well I'll be! Michelle's here too!” He laughed slightly as he looked to Riku then to me then around. He tilted his head to the side and sighed. “Gosh, I guess you weren't with them either, were ya?”_

_By them I could only imagine that he was talking about Sora, Donald, and Goofy. My eyes dropped to the floor and I shook my head. “No...I got separated from them and...I guess I didn't reach them in time.” I rubbed the back of my head as I gazed to the other two as they went down the stairs and came closer. “I'm curious though...how did you two end up here?”_

_“Well...that's a long story,” Riku remarked, King Mickey nodding in agreement. I sighed in defeat, wanting to press on but I felt that this wasn't the moment to pester. “So Michelle, I guess you met DiZ too, huh?”_

_“Huh?” I raised my head up, blinking a few times noticing that Riku's gaze was past me and I turned to look at the black coat on the ground. “Oh right...” I turned back to him. “You met him too?”_

_“Yeah, he gave me an offer back a couple floors ago” Hmmm, so I wasn't the only one I suppose. An awkward silence followed afterwards that caused me to wonder if I should speak up. Heck. There was nothing to do. Then that's when Mickey turned to Riku with a tilted head. “So Riku...what happens next?” He asked._

_“Are you goin' home?” Riku turned his attention to Mickey and shook his head. “I can't go home—not yet.” He stretched his arms in front of him and tightened his hand to fists. “It's still here. It's really faint but I can sense him. So I think his darkness may still have a hold on me” Riku answered._

_“No way,” I caught his and Mickey's attention while I shook my head. I could only assume he was talking about Ansem but I had to put my input in this.  “Your darkness belongs to you. Just the same way your light does.” I exclaimed._

_Mickey nodded brightly as he turned to Riku. “Michelle's right! Up till now, I thought darkness was something that should never exist. But then I spent time with you and I changed my mind”_

_Mickey put his hands on his side and nodded his head, looking up at Riku. “The road you chose—I didn't know. Light and dark, back to back. With you, I think they may meet in a way nobody's seen before.”_

_“I wonder where that road would lead. I'd like to see myself” Mickey then held a hand out to Riku which seemed to surprise him. “I'd like to walk the road with ya”_

_“Aww.” I couldn't suppress that little 'aw' as I saw Riku smile and grabbed hold of his hand, shaking it slightly as he knelt down on one leg to the ground. “Your Majesty, I’m really flattered...I don't know what to say...”_

_“Gosh Riku, you know you don't have to call me that now. We're pals.” Mickey smiled brightly._

_Riku smiled— holy crap he actually smiled—and shook Mickey's hand once more. “Fair enough, Mickey”_

_Mickey smiled brightly as I did in the background. Mickey then turned his head around. “Whelp, what about you Michelle?”_

_“Huh? Hmm...” I crossed my arms and looked to the ground. “I don't know. I feel like...taking up DiZ's offer” I muttered. I noticed Riku's eyes narrow to the side. I guess everyone had something to think about._

_“Whelp, whatever road you decide to choose Michelle, we'll always have your back!” Mickey exclaimed brightly. I glanced over to Mickey as he walked over to me. He put his hand over his heart and nodded. “We're all connected by our heart so no matter what happens, we'll always be by each other’s side.” Mickey exclaimed._

_I raised my arm, rubbing my temple as I hummed thoughtfully. Well he had a point. “No matter what road we all chose to go down, we can always meet up with each other at some point and help each other out”_

_Riku and I shared glances at that moment and...I was wondering if he was thinking the same thing too. Was it possible for us to team up when it was necessary? Even after what had happened in Hollow Bastion and the fact that we really don't know each other?_

_“Well if we're ever in a bind I suppose we can help each other.” I muttered, crossing my arms with a thoughtful expression._

_“It's likely that we'll see each other again so...yeah” Riku seemed to trail off but I couldn't blame him. This was becoming rather awkward. Mickey then held out a hand that caused us to look over to him._

_“Okay then! If we're ever in a bind, we'll come to help our friend out! All right?” Mickey asked._

_Riku and I glanced to each other than to Mickey. As reluctant as I was at the moment I realized...I somewhat had to give him a chance. Riku is Sora's best friend, no matter what. So...I guess...I should at least /attempt/ to trust him and get to know him better._

_I reached my hand out and placed it over Mickey's and glanced up to Riku. “Only for emergencies though! I mean, sometimes there are things we must be able to deal with by ourselves” I added. Mickey seemed to tilt his head slightly but he nodded understandingly._

_We all have inner battles and boss battles that only we can do alone to truly overcome them._

_And so we looked over to Riku, patiently waiting for what he would do. He glanced to the King before glancing to me before staring to our extended hands. He smiled faintly and put his hand out._

_“Agreed”_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

And from there we had parted our ways. Riku and King Mickey disappeared after that heading down a road that no one has taken before. I wonder...what had happened to them during that time? I mean....they were gone for two to three months before fate would have it that Riku and I would meet again. But...King Mickey was not by his side anymore and he began wearing that blindfold over his eyes.

And now Riku's gone too right now. He won't be back till a couple more weeks! Oh jeez. So...that means....

“I'm stuck.”

I frowned deeply before glancing down to the ground below. You know what, screw it. I mean I’ve jumped off an edge into an arena filled with LAVA. I think I should be able to handle a jump from the roof of a mansion to the ground. I gulped faintly as I scooted over a little as I felt myself just barely holding on to the edge of the roof.

“Here we go.” I muttered and then pushed myself off.

I could only hear the rushing air past through my ears as gravity pulled me downwards quickly to the ground. I could feel adrenaline pump through my entire body at the instant and I don't know what overcame me but I felt myself moving backwards and a rush of air surrounded me at the moment. Then a few seconds after that, I felt my feet touch the grass and the earth below. I hastily picked myself up, looking at my arms then down to my legs, awing slightly at how I was able to do that...without feeling even a slight bit of an impact. I rubbed the back of my neck slowly as I turned around and decided to head back into the mansion and find Namine. I have to hurry and go off towards that mission. I suppose the game is going to have to wait till I come back.

All the questions that I still have and all the doubts I've been having...I wonder if I'll ever realize the truth in the end. I sighed lowly, rubbing the back of my head. “Jeez, get a hold of yourself. You're thinking way too much about this” I scowled at myself jokingly, grinning faintly.

This was my life and I was going to have to continue on if I expect to find the end to this. All I probably needed was a little push I suppose. Something to keep me going. Hmm...I hope I’m not jinxing myself there.


	4. Learning To Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much editing. This is a bit of a longer chapter and the few beginning chapters are slow but they move faster. So thank you for taking the time to read. Hopefully you all enjoy~

**_ Day 174 _ **

So, I've been wondering. Honestly, I've been wondering a lot lately.

Why is it that Heartless appear more in one world than in the others? Why was it that that only certain Heartless released hearts? Why were Xion and Roxas so important that they were being sent out to collect hearts basically every day? Why does _SHE_ keep popping up and basically remind me of the craziness of Castle Oblivion that I rather not recall at these times. If only I had the missing pages of my journal. I've been looking for them everywhere but some of them are gone. Ugh, I guess I’m going to have to start looking for those.

Most importantly, I seethed loudly, “WHY CAN'T THE ORGANIZATION TAKE OUT THE FREAKING PURE-BLOOD HEARTLESS!!!”

I hurled the keyblade above my head before piercing through the head of a Shadow. I rested the tip of the blade on the ground, taking in a few deep breaths to catch my breath. My hood completely covered my head, allowing me some kind of shade in this world. The heat was excruciating, the sun completely bearing down on my shoulders. I swear…black is not the color I should wear in this world. I fell on my butt, resting my head against the stone wall. It's always Agrabah, it can be no other place but Agrabah.  I wonder if DiZ secretly knows I don't like Agrabah but continues to send me there.

My eye twitched at the thought, having a bad idea that it could be true. If that was true then I’m going to be seriously annoyed. I wiped my brow off, flicking my wrist while I rested my arms on my knees. It's been more at least a week since I made that agreement with Riku and I’ve come up with some barely good, reliable information. Beside my prior knowledge of everything that happened in Kingdom Hearts 2, I was beginning to dig up into some strange stuff. Specifically around this new member, Xion. I’m a little sketchy on the info I’ve gathered but…she’s not like a regular nobody. It seems…she might have came from Castle Oblivion.

I hummed softly, drumming my fingers along my knee. Maybe the 358/2 Days game can offer something. I haven't had time to play the game and I believe the last place I left off was with Roxas in Neverland. Now it makes me wonder if I’m going to have to follow him to Neverland soon, well, at least that would be nice to fly around. I winched slightly at the idea of finding Tinker Bell though. Oh boy.

“Roxas, hurry it up.”

I froze at the harsh tone, snapping my attention to the side. I shifted in place and set myself behind some crates near a shop. I swallowed roughly, already having a horrible sense that the Organization members were here. Peeking through the crates, it could only confirm as Roxas walked alongside Xaldin, freaking Number 3 in the Organization XIII rank. Why did he insist on having dreadlocks and keep his freakish eyebrows. This guy was just not a pleasant person to see or even think about getting into a fight. The blood in my face suddenly rushed away when I remembered that I had to fight him at some point.

That's when I saw Roxas run by and was probably catching up to Xaldin in order to do their mission. I narrowed my eyes, knowing that I wouldn't be able to follow after them and keep my distance. It would be too much of a risk to take with a member like Xaldin around. If it was Xion and Roxas, then that's a completely different story. I gazed upwards, recalling the time when I had to go through the rooftops when the roads got blocked. Fun times. I raised a brow of interest. Okay, so maybe I could cross from the rooftops and keep an eye of them from there. I can't lose them now.

My keyblade disappeared from my hand and I allowed myself to stand up, sticking close to the wall just in case they were still there. When I knew they were gone, I sprinted across, narrowly getting caught in the pile of sand before I leapt up and got hold of a wooden platform. It shook a little a bit but I managed to get on and nimbly get onto a rooftop before I could even think that it was going to collapse under my foot. Once that was done and over with, I began following them to the entrance where it would lead out to the desert.

Leaping across the rooftops and hiding in the passageways that would lead to the next district of town was very useful in order to keep away from Xaldin's all-knowing stare. This man was always on the lookout, he irritated me so much and brought so much fear. I do NOT want to get spearheaded anytime soon. I leaned against one of the said passages when I finally came to the entrance. I looked down and noticed something different had happened to one of the walls here since I last came to Agrabah. It was completely broken down, the piles of broken bricks laid crumbled to the side while a pile of sand had elevated up to the hole. I raised a brow.

Now I wonder where that led to. Hmm.

“So Xaldin, what's this heartless we're after?” I could Roxas's voice echo that caused my eyes to divert towards the two that had just entered the area. I stuck close to the wall and knelt down, peering over as best as I could without getting caught.

“The Solid Armor heartless, a moderate emblem heartless—” Xaldin’s voice echoed, becoming increasingly distant the further they walked. I sighed, slinking away from my hiding spot to watch as the two entered into a hole in the wall down below. I quirked my lips, coming out further to stand on the ledge to get a better look at the gaping hole.  

Damn, this means I have to follow them inside there?

A gust of wind blew against my back, snapping my hood back on my head. I grimaced as sand began to whip against my back. I sighed, crossing my arms firmly against my chest. Great, another dust storm. I'm guessing that's going to be a yes. I leapt down from the building to the crates below before landing on the ground. I hurried over to the hole in the wall, tracing my hands around to make sure there wasn't any shield or something that would prevent me from going in. Or coming out. I sneaked inside, making sure there was no one there. I grimaced, spitting out sand as I turned, finding the dust storm was now ravaging through the streets of Agrabah.

There’s been more dust storms recently in Agrabah, the gossip that lingers says that it’s a bad omen. I mean, sure, this IS in a desert and should be expected but not this many. From what I’ve been hearing from Riku, apparently they've been getting a storm every few days while on average they only come like maybe once a month. Could it be a heartless causing this. Maybe, it’s a possibility just as much as anything else.

I brushed any excess sand off me and began heading down the dark path. The cavern unlike the outside was actually cool, droplets of water forming along the ceiling. The sand seeped from cracks on the walls, raining down to form a sand pile. My hand led my way as I stuck close to the wall, crouching ever so slightly as I walked. I wonder what they could be here for beside the obvious heartless. Hmm, maybe that’s all there is.

Hopefully for my sakes.

I stopped at the sound of metal clashing, knowing fully well that the two probably have encountered there target and are engaging it. I continued on and I finally came to a very open area. My mouth opened up, my eyes wandering around in awe for a few seconds before I analyzed the area, finding a large stone that I could use to hide behind. I slipped near that, hopefully avoiding any stares from Xaldin, Roxas, or any heartless even. I think they're all preoccupied with each other at the moment. Now here was the problem with this task that I’m doing. I had to gain information while trying to do missions of my own. And I’m supposed to take out a heartless called Zip Slasher. From the picture DiZ showed me at the lab, the emblem heartless is supposed to be pretty fast and it’s supposed to be able to deal a lot of ice spells. Which is not really a bad thing since I'm probably in one of the hottest worlds.

Hmmm, the cold...such a beautiful thing.

Before I could even begin to fantasize on a cold fight between a heartless that would be pretty challenging to take down, I heard the sound of the fighting had come to a cease and I looked over to see a pink heart float up into the air before vanishing into the darkness. I frowned softly but I focused my attention back onto the two Nobodies. I really couldn't hear much to what they were saying but from what I overheard Roxas say loudly that they were to RTC. I waited a few moments after Xaldin had summoned up a dark portal and the two exited the world. A few moments more...wait for it.....just in case....okay. Coast is clear.

I threw my hands up into the air, sighing loudly in displeasure, “You've got to be kidding me, it was another routine mission?!”

I've been getting stuck with the simple heartless missions that involved little to no conversations between the assigned Nobodies. I put a hand to my forehead, hearing my seething echo in this large room. Speaking of...where exactly am I?

My eyes wandered around. It seemed somewhat familiar...

“So you've finally made a reappearance” A female's voice from above acknowledged.

My eyes widen at the voice, recognizing it immediately. No way. I spun around and looked upwards to see a young woman in a black coat, arms crossed under her breast and although the darkness of her hood concealed most of her face, I can still see the brilliant forest eyes peering down at me. I stared at the Nobody that stood up there, blinking a few times to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. What was SHE doing here of ALL TIMES?!

“Flare! What are you doing here?” I demanded. The female Nobody raised her arm, examining her hand as if there was something worth looking at it before she tilted her head a little bit, probably looking down to stare at me.

“I was assigned to do a little recon here but imagine myself coming to see you here of all places. I thought you disappeared off the face of the world back a couple months ago” She remarked.

I scoffed, feeling my hand tighten into a fist that only caused her to 'tsk' in amusement.  I obviously did NOT disappear! Jeez, is that what she really thought had happened to me. Unless this is what the Organization thinks happened to me. Then sweet, I’m really awesome at hiding then. Wait, recon though.

“Wait, why are you doing recon here? I thought Demyx would've been the one that Saix would've ended up sending out” I asked again. She wouldn't be here for just any reason, she wasn't lazy like he was.

Flare lowered the hand slightly, the darkness in her hood staring directly towards me.

“I don't think you have the authority to be asking that. Unless—” That's when a rod appeared in her hand, leafs appearing with it and danced lightly around it before being carried away by the wind. She spun it around gracefully in her hand before pointing it directly towards me. I extended my hand out, my keyblade coming to me and I got into a defensive position, ready for anything.

“If you would like to know more than you will have to beat the information out of me of course” She remarked. I scoffed at that. Of course, that's always how she worked.

“Same rules?” I demanded.

Flare nodded and silence followed afterwards as she twirled her rod around in her hands. I kept a tight grip on my Bleeding Hearts keyblade, watching for the moment she was going to strike. And that came all too soon. Flare twirled her rod, gusts of wind forming alongside her as leafs began materializing in the gust. She directed the gust downwards and I could only tell it was heading right for me was the leaves that followed in the wind. I rolled out the way, hiding behind the pillar and just barely dodged the wind. I could hear the leaves slice into the stone and that caused me to jump away from the pillar. I turned around, seeing the gust rotate violently around the pillar, creating deep scratches into the stone causing me to gulp loudly.

Imagine, that might've been me getting sliced up like that. I stepped back, aiming directly towards Flare as she spun her rod once again, the direction of the wind being altered towards where I stood now. “FIRE STRIKE!” I said, winding up my arm and once I had a good opening I threw my keyblade, watching as the flames came alive along the blade and handle and watched as it spun horizontally in the air.

Flare never moved as it was flying directly towards making me wonder what was going to happen first; I’ll get hit by that blast of wind/leafs or was she going to get whacked over the head by my keyblade. (Kind of hoping she gets hit first)

But of course, my luck is never that great. Seconds before it would come right at her she bent backwards, just narrowly avoiding the blade from smacking across her face. She then spun her rod, hitting the blade and caused its rotation to stop. It flew aimlessly in the air before landing on the ground with a loud clank. Well then.

“Shit” I growled loudly, facing towards the gust of wind that was now heading directly at me. Well, duck to the ground, there's no way I’m dodging this. I dove to the ground, covering my head and prepared myself as the onslaught of the wind would begin. I could just feel tiny cuts slash across my cheek, against my ankles and even my arms.

Yowouch! These are worse than little paper cuts! And this stings so much more because it’s continuous! Oh man, I really need to end this right now.

I clenched my teeth, unclasping my hands from my neck and raised my head up.

“Aeroga!” I shouted loudly over the hollering wind.

The sudden burst of air that came around me repelled the leaves that were cutting into me. I looked up, seeing slowly the leaves were hovering normally in the air and I saw the slight movement in Flare's arm meaning she was going to attack again. But I still had enough time to get out the way. I rolled out the way, reaching my hand out again and charged forward. Flare had already casted another blitz of wind but I wasn't going to care about that right now.

“Blizzara!” I cried out, extending my hand out.

Shards of ice shot from the ground, creating somewhat of a leverage for me to charge up on. Leaping onto the ice, almost tripping as I double jumped it, flipping frontward as I gripped my keyblade with my hands tightly. I yelled out causing Flare to look towards my direction and she straightened her rod out and blocked me before I could land an attack on her. I gritted my teeth, feeling that we were equally matched in strength, perhaps she had a little more than me but I wouldn't dare budge from my spot. Her previous attack had died down, randomly leafs falling with grace proving to me that at least I wouldn't have to worry about getting blown away.

“So Flare, does this mean you're now a member of the Organization?” I demanded, getting my free hand to grasp the blade to make sure I didn't lose positioning. Her forest green eyes twinkled in the darkness of her hood and I could hear her chuckle faintly.

“You could say that, but I’m more or less taking over Vexen's position in the Organization...” She answered, her eyes meeting with mine. I frowned faintly, just barely remembering the fights in Castle Oblivion. She was now there wacky scientist person. Well, she was brilliantly smart after all and she was his....'assistant' you could say. But wacky, no, she wasn't wacky, heck, she was probably the most stoic, NORMAL nobody there was.

At least Flare isn't as bad as Axel. I cringed just thinking about that and I heard Flare chuckle again. She pressed forward causing me to slowly bend backwards.

“I'm surprised about you, Michelle. I would've thought you went to sleep but I should've known better. You were always the one who'd rather stay around for the action”

I scoffed, taking a step forward and got back to the regular position. I forced myself forward but Flare quickly withdrew her rod, jumping backwards to create some separation between the two. Flare landed gracefully, her silver rod disappearing from her hand and leafs dropped from the air. I held my keyblade steadily in my hands, just in case she would attack again. She straightened herself up, wiping off any dust on her before holding a hand backwards. A dark portal formed behind her causing me to jump slightly. She's leaving already.

“I suppose my mission is complete. Time for me to RTC now.” Flare remarked casually.

I stared at her for a minute but soon realized the grave mistake I made. Oh no. She knows....that means she's going to tell. Oh crap. I gripped my keyblade tightly, swinging my arm back and threw my keyblade towards her. Flare did nothing as it came towards her. And then suddenly my keyblade was reflected off her, not even close to touching her. I blinked a few times, raising my hand up as I caught my keyblade when it returned to me. Flare turned, taking a step forward into the portal before she stopped again.

“I should warn you Michelle,” She turned slightly towards me.

“They already knew, they just needed a confirmation and that's the only reason why I’m here. So, better watch out or else you will get skewed by Xaldin.” Flare informed carefully.

I gulped, touching my neck at the thought of fighting Xaldin. Especially from the heartless fight I saw with him and Roxas...I somewhat felt bad for the heartless that was stabbed through the head by him. That didn't seem pretty. My arms shook faintly but I had to ignore it and looked back up at Flare.

“Number XIII and XIV are the Organization's future, you can't do anything about it. Especially with what's to come.” She then turned forward and walked into the darkness.

The portal collapsed behind her, sweeping back into the ground and she's was gone. I stood there, staring at where the she once was, feeling my hand tighten into a fist. I sighed angrily, ruffling my hair widely. This was not good, what did she mean 'especially with what's to come' Ugh. She's worse than Hoshi....I can't believe I just admitted that.

I slapped my head, groaning out loud and that's when I felt a vibration in my pocket. I blinked a few times, my hand slipping down there and pulled out my cell phone. I flipped it open and put it against my ear, letting my keyblade disappear from my hand.

“Namine? Yeah, I'm done,” I skidded my foot across the sand, humming, “can you summon up a portal now? Oh, Namine, is Riku there—No? I guess he's still on that mission. I'll have to tell him this later.” I shut my phone, lifting my head up to see a portal open up right in front of me.

I pulled my hood over my head, tucking back a few strands of hair into my hood and walked into the portal. The darkness was immensely cold as I walked through the Corridors. I could feel my arm begin to tremble and I literally began sprinting for some strange reason. I needed to get out of here. I need to get back. I saw a ripple in the darkness, a light coming from that side and I rushed into it, landing straight into Namine's room. Picking myself up from the ground, I lifted my head to find Namine was waiting causing me to let out a soft sigh in relief. The portal disappeared from behind me and I crossed my arms over my chest.

“What happened?” Namine asked putting a hand on my shoulder, her expression concerned. I pulled down my hood, rubbing my head awkwardly and dropped my head in disgrace. “Flare was there...” I answered grimly.

“She saw you?”

“We fought! She said the Organization already had a hunch that I was still awake. So now they know for sure.” I sat on the edge of the table, rubbing my cheek. “Freaking cheeky tattletale,” Namine blinked a few times, putting a hand over her chest and glanced the other way.

“But wait, there's more...” I began, describing the mission to her in detail. As I told her, I began remembering exactly what Flare said. Whatever is going to happen...it's going to happen to those two. What does the Organization have in mind for them, well, whatever it was, I was going to have to find out and put an end to it. Before something else happens that I wouldn't be able to change.

After that run in mission with Flare, I returned to my room and began playing the game again. Is it weird to think that I'm playing a Kingdom Hearts game within one?  I'm I even really in the game or is this a universe beyond? Oh who knows, I really got to stop asking those kind of questions that no one is gonna answer.

“Can this get any more confusing?” I demanded lowly, tilting the D.S in an angle to see what the heck was going on in this cut scene.

Missions were beginning to get tougher and I didn't know whether or not if I should be afraid for what's to come for me. Unfortunately, I think I may leave Roxas to take care of those heartless bosses in Halloween Town and Beast's Castle unless DiZ sends me there, then at least I have a little bit of an idea of how to take it out. Though I would only have one try...not like the seventeen tries I had with Roxas.  My fingers pressed vigorously at the A button, hoping to get this battle over and done with so I could just die and hopefully be able to destroy this giant, death chest machine heartless, whatever you want to call it, another time.

_“Number XIII and XIV are the Organization's future, you can't do anything about it. Especially with what's to come,”_

Flare's voice continued to ring in my head as I stared blankly at the screen, watching as Roxas floated up and down. I didn't know what she meant by that and it was beginning to bother me. I knew I had to stay out of Organization XIII's business but...

I sighed, shutting the game off and slid open the drawer and dropped it inside. Just as I closed it, I heard a knock on my door. I narrowed my eyes over the bed, watching to see if the person was going to come in but after a few moments I decided to get up and go myself. Opening the door, I peeked outside to see no one was there. I frowned. Oh ha ha, nice way of telling me to come on down DiZ. I rolled my eyes, exiting the room without bothering to close the door. I knew I was going to have to supply up later anyway. I towards the library, heading down the stairs since DiZ began to work longer down here. I don't know what was going on but something seemed to be going wrong and it was making DiZ very frustrated, making Namine work harder to try and fix it. If that was even possible really. I don't know the exact details to what is happening but it seems to be like something is wrong with the memory progress. Hopefully that is not the case here. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I walked into the computer room, hearing the sound of rapid typing and the hum of the machines. I could see DiZ was hard at work with whatever he was doing.

“You wanted to see me, DiZ?” I asked, my voice echoing slightly in the silent room. DiZ hummed thoughtfully, continuing to type for a few moments before turning his seat around to face me.

“Michelle, I need you to do some recon in Neverland. If necessary, take out any emblem heartless that you come in contact with but your main objective is to take out the Windstorms, a Wyvern type of emblem heartless.” DiZ explained to me, his amber eye staring at me intently.

Windstorms, huh?

I put a hand to my chin, humming lightly to recall all the wyverns I had to fight so far. They were all basically the same...they just seemed to be getting stronger sometimes. It sucked but this one, from what I remember, I think they fought in a pack. Greeeeaaat. Especially with them in Neverland, this mission was going to be so much fun. I nodded in understanding the objectives and straightened myself out.

Now I suppose I should go back upstairs-- “She's already waiting for you in the next room with supplies so hurry to it.” DiZ interrupted my train of thoughts.

My eyes widen in disbelief as DiZ had looked at me for a few moments before he turned back, continuing to type on his keyboard as I heard something loud shift close. My eyes narrowed up towards the stairs to see there was no light coming from there, just pure darkness. I had to blink a few times to realize what he had just did. He freaking shut me in here.

I clenched my teeth in annoyance, raising a fist towards DiZ’s back before throwing my arms to the side and walked out of this room. The damn—ugh! Why the heck would he do something like that?!

 I don't know what it is but I'm beginning to feel like DiZ is becoming suspicious of me. If he is, well, that's not good...not good at all. My eyes narrowed, boring into the back of DiZ’s head before I silently scoffed and began heading towards the opposite side of the computer room. The mechanical door slid upwards as I came close enough and I entered through. Namine was in the pod room normally now, always drawing and erasing, rearranging and fixing. She stood in front of Sora's pod, her blonde hair had grown to the point of her mid back, around the same length of my own hair.

“Namine,” I called out, my footsteps echoing loudly in the large room. She turned, her blue eyes widening slightly but they relaxed when she noticed it was me. I guess we all are feeling this weird issue with DiZ now.

“You have stuff for my mission I’ve been told?” I asked her lightly, resting my knuckles on my hips.

 Namine nodded, kneeling down to the ground to place her drawing book down, her hand shaking slightly as she left the pencil on top. I could only watch as she straightened herself up and walked across the room to pick a small little bag. I could only wonder how long she can keep this up. She walked over to me, offering me a half-smile, nodding her head slightly. I stared at her then to the bag, taking the bag from her and thanked her.

“All right, I guess I'll be off now! Meaning you can probably try and get some sleep and eventually Riku will come back from his mission in Hollow Bastion” I exclaimed positively.

“Hopefully, but for now— I’m going to continue fixing his memories.” Namine determined, turning her head towards the large white pod.

I glanced over to it, staring at the elegant container. I could only wonder what was he dreaming of in there. What could possibly be going on with Sora right now?

I smiled sadly at it, realizing it's been a little more than half a year already. He's been asleep for that long I can't believe it actually. I bowed my head slightly before sighing in acceptance, looking back up at Namine who awaited my next move.

“All right, I’m going to head out.”

Without another word, she held her hand out and a dark portal materialized. I pulled my hood over my head, giving Namine one last look before stalking into the darkness.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The darkness was embracing, it was always calling out names I’ve noticed whenever I walked through these dark corridors. Was it of those who had perished in the darkness or was it those who currently wrapped around its tight grip. Either way, it was eerie in here. The darkness always seemed like it could use some more victims. I feel like it’s always trying to get into me but I always ignored it, knowing that the cloak was going to protect me. I know, Namine had to reassure me a million times before I had even first went into the corridors. Although, I have to admit...it still...interested me. I was always afraid of the darkness I never truly had the chance to admire it really. And though this darkness isn't as pleasant, it still acts as a way to get around. It's amazing honestly. If there wasn't the chance of getting sucked into darkness and going absolutely mad I would really use the corridors of darkness more often.

I guess I'll just stick to gummi ships for now and in, I suppose ‘enjoy’ this lingering appreciation for the darkness. I guess King Mickey was right, the darkness really wasn't such a bad place...it's just what decided to lurk in the darkness that bothered me to no end. Guess the little childhood fears of the boogeyman and horror movie characters that I will not name in fear that they may randomly appear and I’ll be dead. It’s something I don't want happening anytime soon. After walking for a few minutes in the endless abyss, I felt a waver in the darkness and I looked to the side seeing a light appear in the darkness. My eyes narrowed and I began to head towards it hoping to god that it wasn't going to leave me up in the air or something like that.

Stepping into the light I found my eyes quickly blinking in the new light.  I looked around, namely to the floor to make sure I was standing on solid ground and was pretty happy to see grass underneath my feet. I sighed happily before glancing upwards seeing the clear bright skies above me. Neverland, this place was a reminder of happier times and better memories I suppose. I mean this place was probably going to be pretty quick to get through. I began walking around, heading towards the edge of the land to find out I was on a cliff. Looked like a long way down from here if I were to accidentally fall...or push some heartless down. I put a hand on my chin, rubbing it carefully as I looked straight, seeing some another rock formation a little farther off.

I bet I could just fly over there and take out the heartless. That's probably where they are. I rubbed my shoulders before closing my eyes. 'All right, I believe, I believe, I believe' I chanted over and over in my mind, ready to take a step forward. But...something stopped me from jumping over the edge and I decided to leap up in place. When I felt the floor underneath my feet again, my eyes shot open and I gasped. Okay, that didn't seem right. I looked down at my feet and began jumping up and down a few more times.

“I believe I can fly! I believe!” I cried loudly a few times, hoping that would make a difference in anything. It really didn't. I began jumping around in place, hoping on one foot, honestly, I felt like if anyone saw me they would think I’m a lunatic or just plain crazy. I BELIEVE I CAN FLY!

“Jeez!” I fell on my back, groaning loudly in annoyance as I stared up at the sky. Okay...this was not good. I can't fly. How was I supposed to complete this mission if I can't even reach the heartless I’m supposed to be after?

Freak, this was not good. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to think of something to do. Maybe if I’m lucky enough I could take a jump or something. At least there's water down below...oh wait....there's a crocodile down there too.

“Freak, this is a lose, lose situation” I sighed in aggravation. Just lying there gave me the time to think of a way. But...that's when I felt something wrong. I cracked an eye open to see the sky was still the same but the air around me just felt...colder.

My eyes widen and I rolled away from the spot I was at. Yeah, it might've seemed stupid but if I had jumped up, I probably would've been seen. At least there was a large boulder I was able to slip by to give me time to pick myself up and hide properly. Hopefully I wasn't being paranoid for no reason now. I looked over the side of the boulder and found a portal forming at the spot where I was at and seconds later, a person stepped out of it.

And of course, it was Roxas.

Okay by now I should realize the only reason they kept sending Roxas on missions was because of his ability to capture the hearts once he defeated the emblem heartless. At least I didn't have to spy on him still, since I’m already playing as him technically in the game...odd how that sounds now. Whatever, at least I know what's going on that I could tell Riku. Yeah. I leaned against the boulder, watching as Roxas seemed to be having the same sort of confusion I was having. Jeez, I wonder what would happen if I were to go up to him and introduce myself. It sounded funnier before I repeated it in my mind. But seriously, it looks like he was stuck here too. But then....

“Eh?” I peered over the boulder in disbelief. A little glowing light was floating around Roxas and in the next minute, Roxas was floating. You've....got...to...be...kidding...me.

“Tinker bell is helping Roxas!? Really?! Oh come on! Why couldn't you help meeeeee?” I moaned, sliding down the boulder and began hitting my head lightly against the rock.

Wow, Tinkerbell must really not like me...or she's still mad over that one time....I DIDN'T MEAN TO FREEZE HER!

I really didn't, I just have horrible aim and those stupid flying heartless love moving around everywhere. I crossed my arms, waiting a few minutes in silence before I peered over the side of the boulder to see the blonde haired nobody was gone. I slipped away from the boulder and looked off from the cliff seeing a little black dot which I could only assume was him. Gosh, he was lucky.

“Tinkerbell! I'm sorry for last year with nearly freezing you! Can't you help a friend out?!” I called out, clapping my hands together and smiled innocently.

I sat there for five minutes hoping. Nope, nothing. No little fairy came to help me out. I deflated, sticking my tongue out in failure before sighing loudly. The wind picked up lightly and I crossed my arms over my chest. At least Sora was able to get her out of the ice and prevented the cherry red fairy from kicking my face. I shut my eyes for a moment, thinking about it but then it transitioned to another one....one I rather not remember.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_“You couldn't do anything to help him! What makes you think you can do anything for others?”_

“Shut up! JUST SHUT UP!”

_“You're motives are lacking, without a true drive, you won't have anywhere to go but down”_

“My friends are what keeps me going!”

_“And what happens when all those friends are gone?”_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

I shut my eyes, trying to block out the memories repeating in my head. I think, I’m going to need to talk to him about this soon. I remember now...he was the reason why my notebook that held my time in Castle Oblivion is broken and now the pages are scattered now. Damn Axel. I sighed lowly when I heard something flapping loudly in the wind. I opened up my eyes and looked up to see a piece of paper blowing around in the wind. It was close to me so I tried examining what was written—wait a second.

“MY JOURNAL ENTRY!” I shouted in realization.

I leapt forward trying to grasp the paper but the wind suddenly grew stronger blowing it right out of my reach. Then a deep roar from behind caused me to pause in my attempt and turn around only to come to face with the belly of a large avian beast. I looked up, seeing that the heartless was staring down at me with glowing yellow eyes and it roared loudly again, basically blowing off my hood off.

Well, hello to you too.

I guess my target wasn't on that other piece of land that I needed to fly to. I laughed nervously before I held my hand out.

“THUNDARA!”

Lightning shot down from above, striking the Windstorm on the head and allowed me the chance to move away. Two more wyverns appeared in the area, nearly knocking me off balance but I managed to stay up. But my attention was being brought back to the piece of parchment flying around. Castle Oblivion was beginning to become foggy in my mind so I need those papers back. The three heartless flew around causing the paper to be thrown higher and higher into the air. I threw my hand out and felt my Bleeding Hearts appear as I gripped the handle tightly.

“All right, let's dance!” I called out challengingly.

I felt my left hand charging up on my next thunder attack. One of the heartless roared, flapping its wings rapidly as another joined him and next thing I knew, I couldn't feel the ground underneath my feet anymore. Not cool! Not cool! I flipped around aimlessly in the air, looking down only to see the other heartless come charging at me. I rotated in the air before throwing my keyblade at the heartless hitting it directly at the head and causing it to crash back at one of the heartless blowing me up in the air. I grinned but suddenly I saw the journal entry flying in front of my face causing my eyes to widen before I fell into a drop. WHOA!

I was still in the air but I wasn't as high up as I was before. I looked down seeing only one of the heartless was flapping its wings at me causing the little swirl of air underneath me. The other two heartless were on the ground but one was slowly getting back up.

Cue the light-bulb turning on!

_'That's it!'_ I thought joyously as I flipped in the air once. I managed to plant my feet on the tip of the boulder, gripping it tightly before I held my hand out.

“Heal!” I can't believe I’m doing something so incredibly stupid.

I watched as the emerald light surrounded the heartless that was getting up and it suddenly began flapping powerfully in response at me. I tried keeping the grip on the boulder but it was getting harder to do now. I glanced up seeing the paper was really out of my reach now but I kept a focus on the heartless for now. The other heartless had stumbled back on its feet and was now flying up and charging straight at me. I had to make this count or else this was really going to end up hurting.The heartless hollered as it was mere feet away from me.

“Now!” I let go of the boulder and began rapidly ascending upwards, just narrowly dodging the charging heartless.

I twisted in the air and grabbed onto the tail, being pulled forward with it as it twisted in the air and twirled around trying to get rid of me. I was not going to be letting go anytime soon. DX Waaaah! I couldn't tell what direction I was going anymore and honestly I was beginning to feel sick. The heartless paused in the air, swinging its tail violently that nearly sent me flying but I managed to grab a hold of it with one hand.

I gripped it tightly with the single hand while I turned around, seeing that the paper was floating just below me. I grinned in victory and looked at the heartless seeing that it was raising a wing up. I'm going to take that as my time to leave. I let go of the heartless, instantly dropped but just managed to dodge the attacks. I flipped in the air and grabbed the paper right in time before it ended up floating upwards again.

HA-HA! I GOT THE FIRST PAGE OF MY JOURNAL ENTRY! YES!

I laughed loudly in victory, gripping the paper tightly and flipped around, swinging my arm back.

“Thunder Raid!” I yelled loudly, feeling the bolts of electricity begin to run down the handle and to the blade. I threw the keyblade and watched as it smacked into the heartless once causing it to wail loudly becoming stunned in midair before being smacked again.

“THUNDARA!” I called out and watched as the barrage of lightning strike down on it and took it out. All right, one heartless down, two more to go!

The wind began dying down on me and I began descending back to the ground faster than I had expected. I grabbed hold of my keyblade again and I turned around, throwing it at one of the heartless, watching as it got stunned and the wind really died down. Whoa, falling too fast! FALLING TOO FAST!

I flipped in the air before landing on the head of the stunned heartless and quickly jumped off back to the ground. Well...didn't expect that to work but I’m going to roll with that. The other heartless turned to me, swiping the air and caused blades of winds to hit me. I clenched my teeth but went on, slicing at the stunned heartless before it to was destroyed. One left to go.

“Thundara! Thundara! Thundara!” I kept casting back and forth at the last remaining Windstorm. I'm so glad that thunder was this things weakness. The heartless hollered in pain before it swung its wings out sending a blast of wind at me, knocking me off my feet.

I hit the ground, groaning loudly in pain before looking up. Oh snap, when did that heartless get so close?! Its talons were raised up high and my eyes widen at my current situation. ROLL AWAY!

I rolled to the side, hearing the dirt being scooped up as I continued to roll away. I flipped onto my stomach side, pushing my arm down to get myself back up as the heartless slashed at where I was trying to go. Damn! I blocked most of the attacks, occasionally ducking the swings from the spiky tail and wings and kept moving backwards. When I felt my heel nearly going backwards, I swung my arms in a circle to prevent myself from falling back. I glanced over my shoulder to see I was right at the edge of the cliff. My eyes widen like saucers and I faced forward seeing the heartless wave its wings back, preparing for another attack. Well crap. I moved my arm back, feeling the electricity in my attack charging up, knowing that it'll probably take it out in one shot.

I let it go and watched as it swirled in the air, hitting the heartless on the chest. But...it still didn't stop the attack it sent straight at me. “Shit!” Was all that escape from my mouth before I was sent flying backwards. Oh shit, oh shit, oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fucking shit! I flipped backwards in the air, shutting my eyes as I hoped I could grab onto something. Then...I suddenly stopped falling. ….What?

I opened my eyes, looking around before looking down to see I was only a few feet away from hitting the water. Wait...I'm floating...h-how? I looked at my sleeves, noticing a faint glimmer of gold resting all over them. Huh? I suddenly heard a little ring of a bell and I turned my head to see a familiar gold light floating near me. My eyes widen and I began smiling ecstatically.

“Tinkerbell! W-What!? H-how?!” I just shut my mouth, grinning at the sight of the little fairy. THANK GOD! SHE SAVED ME!

She began tapping the air, crossing her arms over her chest as she gave me an impatient look, her face turning slightly red. I raised a brow when I rubbed the back of my neck, laughing lightly before sighing.

“Okay, I'm sorry for the ice thing. I really didn't mean it.” I apologized. Tinkerbell turned her back on me and I frowned in response. I dropped my eyes to the water below, sighing lightly.

“I'm really am sorry Tinkerbell...and...I’m sorry he isn't here either right now. I know you liked him better than me” I noticed Tinkerbell move her head slightly to glance at me but she kept looking forward. I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I wish...he was here but right now he's not.” I explained. She turned, pointing in a direction that caused me to glance over. Oh...she must be thinking about Roxas.

“Yeah, he's like Sora right? But...that's not him. It's someone...completely different” I rubbed the back of my neck, sighing lightly. Tinkerbell looked at me concerningly but I smiled in reassurance.

“But...don't worry, Sora is sure to be back soon. And when he's back, I promise I’ll get him back here to Neverland and everyone will have a good time, okay?” I promised, holding a pinky to her. Tinkerbell looked at it then back to me as I smiled softly. “So...apology accepted?”

Tinkerbell frowned for a moment before nodding, shaking my pinky with both her hands. I grinned brightly before standing up straight and moving around as I flipped in midair. Thank god for Pixie dust. Tinkerbell floated up to me, tilting her head slightly as I looked down to her, smiling appreciatively.

“Thanks Tinkerbell, hopefully I'll be able to see you again later. I gotta go now” She pouted for a moment before nodding. I smiled then grabbed the back of my hood and flipped it on. I flew upwards and then back to the cliff. I flipped once in the air and landed on solid ground, feeling relief flow through me immediately.

I sighed contently, reaching for the inside of my coat to see I still had the journal entry. I scanned the entry, seeing that it was describing details such as the night we camped out on the field...and then...how we got separated in the castle...and the first time I met Flare, Axel, and Zexion. I folded the paper neatly into my pocket before making the call to head back to the mansion.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I entered my bedroom, sighing in relief once I shut the door and just slid down to the floor. Once I had told DiZ of my mission success, he had already set me up with three more afterwards. They were short but very annoying. It was 3'o clock in the morning by the time I was back. I wiped my head, sighing faintly before reaching into my pockets.

I had found another paper in one of the missions. Good, I only had about 8 more to go at least. I sighed lightly, getting up to put the papers in my notebook when I heard a rough knock on my door. I raised a brow, turning around to open up the door. 

I found Namine there, panting heavily and her eyes wide in fear.

“Namine? Namine? What's wrong?” I asked.

“I know what's causing Sora's memory progression to be slowed down…” Namine suddenly revealed to me. My eyes widen and I put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her slightly out of her daze moment she was having. “What? What is it?!”

She looked up at me.

“It's the 14th member, Xion”

Say what now?


	5. Demanding Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter came a little late because of interview opportunities meaning I had to leave the laptop behind. Anyways, this is a bit longer of a chapter as well! I hope you all enjoy this one~! Excuse spelling errors or such, if not, at least let me knoooooow. I don't bite.

_ Day 175 _

“What?”

My eyes were wide in disbelief as I stared at the shorter, blonde haired Nobody. Unreadable blue eyes stared right back at me and all I could do was take a step away from her.

'Xion? Is...Is that nobody really causing the disruption of Sora's returning memories?'

The idea seemed so odd to me but Namine was the one telling me and she's the one who has an ability with Sora's memory. She has to be able to know who was causing this sooner or later. But....maybe it sounded funny to me  because it was the one nobody I have yet to see, I have the least information about, and honestly the one that's beginning to frustrate me the most.

I coughed awkwardly into my hand after I let her news sink into me a bit more. I shook my head and looked back up to see Namine patiently staring at me, as if she's wondering how I would react to the news. I gulped lightly, feeling the rough leather of my gloves rub against my neck as I tried to find words to even begin with this.

“All right, when did you find out?” I decided to ask her.

She answered grimly, “Just recently.”

I raised a questionable brow at her as she gripped her notebook tightly in her hands. She walked over to my desk where the chair had been pulled out already and gently sat down. I stared at her for a moment before sighing lowly and walked over to my bed.

I hoped up on it, kicking my shoes off and sat crossed legged on my bed, folding my arms over my chest. I have a feeling this may be one of those ‘I have to sit down before you tell me anything that may make me fall over in disbelief' conversations we're about to have. I gestured for her to continue and she nodded slowly, trying to find the words to begin with.

“It was about two days ago when I had a real glimpse of who it might have been” Namine began.

“I was continuing piecing together his memories when something happened. It was as if there was a rupture during the progress, the memory became fuzzy for a moment and I had almost lost grasp of it. It was as if the memory was being pulled to another to be remembered….” She paused, looking up at me to see if I was getting this.

I crossed my arms, letting the info slowly sink in before I nodded my head to let her continue on. Namine pulled her notebook and flipped through the pages. She stopped somewhere around the middle before turning the book around to allow me to see one of her drawings. My eyes narrowed as I shifted in my bed and grabbed hold of her notebook and rested it on my legs.

Namine usually gave me her notebook to look at her drawings since I usually asked her to see them. They were actually pretty good and I liked her way of drawing. -w-' If only I could draw in the first place. But....she was the one gesturing for me to look at them, hmm, I wonder what she drew this time...

It was a drawing of a cloaked member of the Organization. The shadow hid the face well but from what Namine was intending to draw...it seemed like.... the member had no face to even begin with. I raised a brow, wondering if Namine had finished the drawing yet or this was actually legit. Then I looked to the drawing below it and saw another drawing.

Another cloaked member stood in the middle and I could tell this was Xion. A hand was extended out to a drawing of Roxas beside her and a drawing of Axel on the other side. I blinked a few times and looked up at Namine questionably.

“At first, I assumed it was nothing and I continued to piece his memories back together but then after Riku came and told me that Xion had passed out during one of her missions.” She explained. 

My eyes widen for a split second at the mention of Riku. I bit my lip but nodded to Namine to continue going. Damn it, I need to inform him of the things that have been going on for the past weeks. Especially the thing with Flare....

“That's when I began connecting the dots together, Sora's memory progression has been slowed down whenever either Roxas or Xion passes out. I then thought....what if some of Sora's memories got lost?” Namine finished questionably.

“Got lost? You mean when you began to unravel his memories, they began floating off or something?” I interpreted with a raised brow. Namine nodded slowly in response. I tilted my head slightly, resting my chin on my hand.

“Yes, something like that. Then I thought there would be no way for me to finish. If that happened—and if they found their way to someone else—he'd never get them back”

The words felt like they struck me across the face as my head snapped straight at her. I stared at her, hoping to see some kind of change in her expression but it still remained solemn causing my eyes to widen. S-Sosa’s memories....would never go back to him?! No, that's not possible. I was lost for words at the moment as my mouth was opened slightly as I shook slightly.

“B-But are these memories important? Does he truly needs them?” I demanded, looking at Namine for some kind of hope. Hopefully these were some kind of stupid ones or ones that had been involved with Castle Oblivion. She looked up at me.

“They...they may be the memories he needs in order to wake up. The key...” Namine folded her hands over lap again, her fingers digging slightly into the hem of her dress.

I was becoming increasingly sick with what Namine continued to tell me. I gulped deeply turning my head away as I put a hand to my head, suddenly feeling a little light-headed. If he doesn't wake up....no. No. No. My hand gripped my forehead slightly as I shut my eyes tightly. I rubbed my forehead, groaning lowly before moving my fingers away to at least look at Namine.

 “Then....how does Sora's memories connect with the 14th member?” I asked lowly. She looked sadly to her folded hands, her hair crowning her face. “If his memories become her memories, she will never survive it.”

 “If...Xion takes Sora's lost memories as her own....she's not going to survive?” I repeated questionably. Namine nodded causing my brows to furrow together. Why the heck would she not survive!?

“She won't be able to handle his memories. Eventually, they will consume her whole and change her to something completely else, I think. ” Namine predicted. An eerie silenced followed after that as I looked down to her drawings. Glancing to the hooded figure above then to the trio at the bottom, I couldn't help but feel a twig of sadness. If what she was saying is true....she's gonna have to go.

“But how is Xion able to take Sora's memories like that? I mean she's not connected to him like Roxas is....” I trailed off when I noticed Namine not agreeing with me. I blinked a few times, straightening myself up as I noticed her eyes moving away slightly to avoid my questioning stare. Wait...there's more to this now...

“Namine...is there something you're not telling me about Xion?” I asked slowly, careful about how I said it to her.

Namine bent her head down, looking away and I opened my mouth once more to ask again but then I stopped. I felt a cold chill run down my spine as I immediately jumped from my bed and Namine stood up, grabbing her notebook and shutting it close. We both turned to the end of my room to see a dark portal opening up. Seconds later it disappeared and DiZ stood in its place.

I felt my teeth clench slightly as I straightened myself up. This was a bit...unusual of him to use the portals to appear in the other rooms of the house....unless that door was still locked up from earlier...than....that would at least explain why he had to use the dark corridors to get here. That still gives him no excuse though! Can't he bother to even knock anymore...or go through a door like a normal person should?

His golden eye narrowed to Namine for a moment who silently held her breath under his gaze before focusing back on me.

“Michelle, you have a mission I need you to do. Recently there's been a disappearance on the number of Heartless in Halloween Town, I want you to investigate and take out any heartless you may encounter” He ordered.

“Right.....” I trailed off, my dark eyes darting to Namine quickly before focusing back on DiZ. I wonder, did she tell him about this little mess? That wouldn't be good. DiZ turned to Namine, his look showing a sort of scowling. “And you should be off where you belong.”

Namine's eyes lowered down and she nodded. DiZ looked between the two of us then disappeared from the room as fast as he came. The two girls stood in the darkness as Michelle glanced at Namine. “DiZ....doesn't know about Xion...right?”  She was hesitant to ask for she really hoped that the answer wasn't going

“No...I haven't told him about this...yet anyways” Namine looked at me but I casted my view downwards, sighing lowly. I narrowed my eyes. I know DiZ has some kind of an idea of this mess but to know specifically of what was going on...that...would be bad.

“Perhaps....this should stay between us for now” I suggested.

I don't want to even imagine how DiZ would react to Namine saying that Sora's memories are beginning to slow down even more now. Namine nodded in agreement before she turned to an empty space of my room. The dark portal formed underneath her pale hand and I stared into the deep abyss. I was about to go in when I paused for a moment, stopping at least a foot away from entering the portal. Wait...I still needed to know. I turned my head towards Namine.

“Namine...about Xion—”

“I can't tell you yet....” Namine interrupted me causing my eyes to widen. Huh?

Namine looked down at the floor before looking back at me timidly. “I think...its best that you find out on your own” Namine continued. My eyes narrowed and I sighed lowly, flipping my hood over my head as I brushed past Namine straight into the darkness.

I guess....I'm going to have to continue on with the game and figure it out the hard way....

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Halloween Town

I exited the dark portal, feeling the chill of Halloween Town run down my spine. My god, I feel like those creepy wings are supposed to be moving on my back. Errr. I shivered once more gripping the sleeves of the black coat tightly and began moving forward. This was basically a recon mission and he didn't specify on any kind of heartless so I'll take out a bunch of easy heartless and I'll be off on my way early! The quicker I’m done with this place, the better.

My footsteps echoed as I managed to slip past the gate to the main part of town and sneak around in the shadows. Once I determined that no one was in the Town Square, I made my way out and scanned around. This place...was exactly the same. Although...it seems like Jack had a strange idea for Halloween again. A bunch of balloons floated around, scary expressions drawn on them and for some strange reason, I had a feeling that if I touched one of them, it would explode in my face or something like that. I stared at one of the balloons, tempted to touch it but I decide against it because I really didn't want to suffer a heart attack any time soon.

My eyes wandered to the fountain as I noticed the head of the statue turn away, a quick creak emitting from its direction. I walked away from the fountain and began moving around hoping to provoke some kind of heartless to pop out and attack me. I walked around the square I noticed that there were no signs of them. I stopped by the guillotine, searching around for anything. Okay, I guess....they're not heartless here. Maybe they're in the graveyard...

My brows furrowed together as I huffed silently, “This is turning out to be a drag of a mission...”

“Doctor! I have to show you this new idea I had planned for the next Halloween!” My eyes widen when I heard the familiar voice of Jack nearby. Shiiiiit.

I looked around, moving quickly into the shadows of the buildings nearby and pressed my body against the cold wall. I peered over to see Jack Skellington walk to the center of the town and the Doctor in his wheel chair rolling right beside him. Jack extended his arm out, gesturing to the balloon with the scary face.

“Well Doctor?  What do you think?! I've put a few new “ideas” in place for this coming Halloween” Jack gestured to the balloons beside him.

“Oh?”

“These balloons contain a terrifying trick! Anyone who touches them is in for quite a shock!” Jack explained. I blinked a few times before sighing softly. I knew there was something fishy about the balloons. Thank god I didn't touch it after all.

“Hmm, interesting” The Doctor nodded once more, glancing at the balloon before looking at Jack again. “Be sure to tell me about any more “ideas” you have, Jack” The Doctor then began to wheel away with Jack brightly responding, “Oh I will, Doctor!”

Once the Doctor had wheeled away, Jack rested his skeletal chin on his bony fingers.

“Hmm...It’s not enough though. My perfectly petrifying Halloween is still missing something...” Jack thought out loud, clearly troubled over his newest scheme to make his Halloween absolutely terrifying. He walked away from the center of town causing me to sigh in relief. That was close. Well, so far so good as to oppose of the fact that there’s no heartless and that I haven't got scared ye—

“Ah—” I clamped a hand over my mouth as a giant spider appeared in front of my face. Holy shit, holy shit, hollllllyyyy craaaaaap!  This is not just your regular sized spider this is like “I'm as big as your face” Kind of spider

I literally sprinted past it, eyes snapping back open as I instinctively ran towards the graveyard, hurrying past the stairs and nearly bumping into something along the way. Slamming the gates shut, I instantly rubbed my cheeks roughly while I shook my head. Ugh! I hate spiders! Especially when they do sneak attacks like that! God damn! They are sometimes nice to watch but when they decide to get all up in my face like that, I will run damn it! I cannot be sneaky in this world with stuff like that appearing in my face! Jeez, I’m not into scary stuff! I try to avoid it at all costs!

Yet isn't it ironic that I would end up being on a mission in a world that is known for terrifying stuff. Yeaaaaah, just my freaking luck. I groaned lowly and began to walk around as I fixed my hood and wiped away the cobwebs that got stuck to it. Well....after that rush, I realized that there were no heartless in the Town Square....which is rare....they're usually these little heartless that pop up that are easy to dispose of but still. My eyes wandered around the seemingly abandon graveyard and I put a hand on my hip.

“All right...what's up with the Heartless shortage?” I asked out loud.

What was going on?

Well, this is strange indeed. No heartless; not any emblems or any pure. That's...kind of weird. It's good, but I guess this explains why DiZ seemed worried about this. I guess I should check the Town Square again to double check cause I’m sure at least one of those little heartless should appear. I need to at least get rid of some kind of heartless. Even one heartless will be good enough for me. I was about to leave when something caught my eye. A dark blur rushed over on the hill followed by another. I turned towards the area, blinking a few times before I caught notice of a dark figure. The dark figure moved across the hill and jumped to the other side over the wall. My breath hitched for a second as I made out the dark figure. Was that Flare. My eyes narrowed and I curled my fingers to my palm tightly. It had to be her.

I scoffed in annoyance, wondering what she was doing here already. Did she know what was actually causing this?

I wonder, what she knows about Xion. She would know something about what was going on since she indicated it before. Maybe if I get to her I could demand some answers. I was about to head forward when I stopped again, feeling something strange in the area.  Like...a heartless kind of strange. I turned around, seeing that the graveyard was empty still but my paranoia ran on a high at the moment. My eyes wandered around to double check before I turned back to the direction Flare ran off too.

“All right, time to get some answers!” I told myself.

Suddenly something slithered by, hissing lowly that caused the hair on my neck to stand up.  My eyes widen for a second but before I could even turn to investigate, I felt something clamp onto my ankle, dipping its piercing teeth or whatever right into my skin and I knew immediately that I was bleeding. “Ah!” I glared down to see a dark claw like thing clamping my ankle. It pulled me down to the ground, trying to drag me off but I swung out my keyblade and slashed at the neck of the creature. The head of the creature disintegrated and I quickly pulled myself up from the ground. The remaining body then began to twitch on the ground, jerking around the area where I had destroyed the head from. The tip began to glow a dark green and suddenly, a second head reemerged.

What...what the heck is this thing?!

The creature shook its head violently, opening its mouth at me to hiss loudly before speedily slithering away, sliding over the wall. I ran to the wall, running up it slightly to look over the wall to see several others like it heading towards the area that Flare had disappeared off to.

“Oh no you don't!” I pulled my legs over the wall and leaped off, sprinting off towards the same direction. I'm not going to let this chance slip by! I need to know what's going on!

I crossed the bridge, quickly following after the heartless like creature before I ended up on the cliff edge to where Oogie Boogie's mansion once resided. I looked around in the open space before looking down and—whoa! What the heck!? A large creature was down there, a medium sized tombstone residing on its back as more of those claw like tentacles emerged from it. I stared at it intently when I noticed something. Wait...why are some of the claws holding heartless?! Those little bug like heartless were squirming in the claws grip when suddenly the claws crunched down, destroying the little heartless. I gasped loudly as I noticed that the claws then swallowed up the heart that the heartless released from it.

“What the heck?!” I demanded. Was this thing the reason for all the missing heartless?! “….Ugh...” I slapped my head, groaning loudly in displeasure.

“Of course...I thought this would be simple but no...I have to face a boss” I scowled to myself. I turned to the area down below and took a step from the edge before jumping off.

“YAAAAAAAH!”

The heartless seemed to have notice and looked up but could not block my keyblade from smashing against the tomb. The heartless hollered as I jumped off the heartless and landed on the ground.

“Huh...so that was you back there” She remarked causing me to smirk inwardly. I turned my head just in time to notice the mysterious figure next to me and knew immediately that it was Flare.

“Figured it was you so I decided to pop in,” I informed her.

I could see her eyes narrow in the darkness of her hood but faced her attention to the large heartless in front of us. Emitting a loud noise, its tentacle arms raised up and darted straight towards us. I rolled out the way, swinging myself back to a stance

“As unfortunate as this may seem, I may need your assistance in defeating this blasted thing.” Flare acknowledged causing me to turn towards her direction. I pointed a finger to her.

“Then after we beat this thing, you're going to answer some of my questions” I retorted causing her to turn her head towards me. It was silent for a few seconds, cept the heartless was still making those weird noises so gonna block it from my mind, before she nodded.

“Fine.”

I smirked and took my stance as I faced the large heartless. This was probably braking so many rules that DiZ had told me but at the moment, I didn't care. I had to get my answers and this was my only chance. So no matter the consequences it may lead to— I’m taking it!

 “Heads up!”

Air blew around me as I was rocketed up by a dark vine that wrapped tightly around my waist. I clenched my teeth, feeling my feet being taken off the ground as I was hurled up into the air. My hands gripped tightly on the vine that held me as I tried finding a weak point to get myself out of this mess!

The head of the vine that entangled me had slipped by, opening its dark mouth to show razor fangs that looked about ready to snap my neck. I narrowed my eyes, holding my arm out as my keyblade flashed to it and I swung down at the head, slicing it clean off from the neck as the head evaporated into darkness. The vine that held me gradually loosened enough to allow me to slip through and land once again on the ground. I spun the keyblade around and stared at the opponent. A freaking large heartless that was capable of eating other heartless. Yeah, that's just great. So much for an easy mission, I should've known something like this would happen. And what's even better, I’m teaming up with the enemy...peachy.

“Ha!” I looked upwards, only to have to shield my eyes as a gust of wind began to blow as leafs of a dark shade began to blow in the wind and head directly towards the Heartless.

Flare had her silver rod gripped tightly as she spun around in the air gracefully, the leaves twirling around her figure as she directed it with her rod. The heartless's vines moved uncontrollably until the main body of the heartless shrieked loudly and suddenly all the vines directed their attention towards Flare. I clenched my teeth as several shot towards her direction but I had to focus on the several that were coming at me. I dodged rolled to the side, throwing my arm out to realize my keyblade. It spun vertically into the air and cut the vines that were chasing me, leaving a dark puff of dust in their wake. But as soon as it cleared up, more vines began charging in my direction.

“You've got to be kidding me!” I cried out in annoyance.

I rolled out the way as the vines head dug into the spots where I once was, burying their heads into the dirt. I pushed myself off the ground and shot my attention towards Flare to see her spin around once in the air and connect her rod with the head of the main heartless. It shrieked loudly as the airflow of leaves followed afterwards, striking many small cuts into it. The main body shrieked again causing more vines to dart their way towards the descending Organization member.

Her head seemed to move in the direction of the incoming heartless vines and she quickly swung her rod out, leaves radiating sharply after. She swung her rod, hitting the first head that attempted to snatch at her and as the other followed, the leaves sliced the heads off allowing Flare to put some space between her and the main heartless. She landed on the ground, skidding slightly but she shot out her arm, her grip on her rod never wavering. I rolled my eyes, scoffing softly. Show off.

“You know, you could've warned me earlier” I said casually as I came a few feet beside her. She turned her head towards me, the shadow of her hood hiding her expression.

“I suppose I underestimated your reaction skills, I suppose I should remind myself that you're slower than a turtle,” She retorted.

My eyebrow twitched as I shot a finger to her.

“Hey! All I was saying was—” Before I could even come close to finishing the sentence, I noticed vines rushing towards our direction.

We both quickly jumped away from the spots we were at and separated across the field. My brows scrunched together as I examined the heartless. God damn it, Flare, I need a Scan on this thing! Heck, all I want to know right now is if we're even making any damage towards it.

The coffin in the center suddenly opened up, shooting a purple mist towards my direction. I shielded my mouth and nose as I backed away, avoiding any in coming claw heartless. The smell, it’s almost acidic, it must be poison or something like it. I huffed faintly as three vines came towards my direction, their scythe like claws opening up as I gazed into the red eye that formed in the middle.

“Aeroga!” I muffled loudly underneath my arm sleeve.

A burst of air surrounded me and I instantly took in a deep breathe, taking in the clear air while I still can. Okay, I got to do this fast and head directly over to Flare while I still have the chance. The air around me flowed around, acting as a shield as I charged forward with my keyblade in hand. I jumped forward, attacking the claws that came to attack me. Slicing the heads off as I made my way through, I couldn't help but notice Flare running swiftly across the battlefield as the coffin opened up and shot this slimy, green attack after her. She managed to dodge each one as she continued to attack the heartless. I frowned inwardly as I shot a hand forward, returning my attention back to where it needs to be.

“Blizzara!” The icy sensation ran up through my body to my arms and the ice spell shot out, coating the ground and nearby claws that tried coming at me.

I slipped on the ground as the two of the main legs that were holding up the coffin raised up and slammed down onto the ground. I could feel the shock wave and it literally knocked me off my ice trail. I shut my eyes tightly but I quickly managed to get back on my feet and ran right back on the ice and skidded across.

“All right! Let's see how you like this!” I muttered loudly as I drew my keyblade to the side.

Once I was close enough, I leaped up and strike down at the leg closest to me as many times as I possibly could. With one defining turn, I slammed down and the leg suddenly collapsed to the ground, the coffin leaning off towards the side that was now destroyed.

I skidded across the ice and punched the air in victory. Sweet! One down! Three more to go—

“Take this!”

Flare strike against the leg in the back and it disintegrated into nothingness and the coffin slipped to the ground, shaking slightly upon impact. The heartless wailed loudly in distress with only two legs left to support itself up. I blinked a few times. Jeez, she took that thing down like it was nothing. Okay, now it has two left, even better. The heartless wailed loudly and the two main legs on the body began to shake violently. Since both were on the same side, one began to twist and move around the body. One of the legs flipped around the bulb above the coffin and it slowly managed to pick itself up. I felt my mouth open up to say something but nothing but a groan emerged.

“You've got to be kidding me!” I said in annoyance.

Flare had flipped over to my side, her rod gripped tightly as she looked over to me, her forest green eyes glowing the midst of the darkness of her hood.

“We need to disconnect the coffin from the rest of the body, that's the only way we'd be able to defeat this leech” Flare informed me, looking forward to the heartless as more of those claws began appearing and slithering along the ground, heading directly towards us. I narrowed my eyes to her before glancing to the heartless. So all I need is one good shot at the bulb and maybe I can take out the heartless. Or—

“We need to take out the last of its limbs before we could finish it off” Flare responded smoothly.

 Okay, we could do that too.

I glanced over to her, narrowing my eyes. Something about how she said it...began to bother me. I don’t think I’m going to like how this fight ends. But nevertheless, I nodded in agreement and spun the keyblade once in my hand to get a good grip on it.

“Okay, let's go”

The heartless wailed loudly, the dirt exploding below it as more claws sprouted out with loud hisses. I took a step back before pushing off, dodging several claws that aimed for my direction. Flare leaped away several times as the claws continuously pursued after her. Flare landed on the ground as she boldly took a stance, her hands gripping the rod tightly, she reeled back then whipped it forward, a gale of wind cutting into the claws that opened its jaw for her. They were sliced into ribbons, scattering into the wind. I tightened my grip on my keyblade, looking at the newly cleared path. Open path means I could charge right on through.

Zipping past her, I managed to close the distance between me and the heartless when it roared loudly, the coffin beginning to shake violently.  A purple mist began to emit from the top, floating gently to the floor. My eyes widen and I immediately clamped a hand over my nose and mouth. I had to save my magic, I was beginning to grow low on it and I didn't have any ethers to use at the moment.

Freaaaaaak. This was bad.

The last time I encountered poison it ended up really having a bad-side effect on me. While in a game under the status you would regularly lose your health but if _I_ were to get effected, it would basically leave me a quarter of my health left and then CONTINUE taking my health away. That is...if you were to think about it in video game ways. I gripped my keyblade with my left hand tightly and tossed it forward, seeing it spin wildly in the air. It slashed into the leg of the heartless causing it to cry out sharply in pain, rocking back and forth but it didn't break. My eyes narrowed in disappointment but I was more worried about how the heck I was going to get out of the poisonous haze. My chest began to constrict and the need for air really began screaming and my throat was soon following.

My eyes began to water and I pinched my nose tighter. I could hear the slithering squeals from the claw vines that caused my attention to be turned. The heads flew up in the air before disintegrating in the harsh winds that came to follow. The purple haze in the path whirled away leaving a clear patch of clean air in its wake. My eyes widen as I could feel the lingering gust of the wind, my view suddenly becoming clearer. I opened my mouth, letting a rush of air in and gasped deeply, coughing lightly as I continued taking in the air. I hit my chest with my fist, wheezing lightly before I looked up, seeing Flare across the other side of the field sweeping the ground and letting gusts of air divide the purple mist.

She really knows how to handle everything. Hmph. I held my hand out and my keyblade flashed to it. All right, let's do this. I sucked in a deep breath before shutting my mouth tight and charged back into the purple haze. I dodged most of the claws that came at me, cutting off some heads before I came close enough to the large heartless. The heartless raised one of its leg towards my direction and I skidded to a stop, looking up to see the sharp leg hovering above me.

Uh-oh.

I rolled out the way just in time as I felt the ground rattle violently, the leg stabbing into it. I picked myself up and took the moment to lash out. I swung back and forth slashing into the leg of the heartless, hoping that I could at least get enough damage to finally snap this thing off. Minutes as I was into it, I could feel the heartless beginning to squirm to get its leg out of the dirt. The coffin in the center began to buckle and shake and suddenly it popped open. A dark, greenish glob came flying out of the coffin and towards my direction.

'Damn it!'

I withdrew from attacking again as I sprinted to get away from the descending green blob. I managed to get away in time as the blob hit where I was once standing. I gazed over, seeing that it was slowing seeping into the ground, burning everything around it and it loosened the leg out of its trap.

Acid! It can shoot acid now!?

I grumbled angrily, casting a quick aero to get the purple mist away from me and give me a minute to breathe. I gazed over to the side, seeing Flare maneuvering herself gracefully through the battlefield, easily able to take out the vines of claws that came at her direction. I rolled my eyes. Honestly, she was a freaking show off. I returned my focus on the leg I was going to take down, narrowing my eyes as I held out my keyblade, turning the blade slightly as I began running towards the direction. Vines began to pop from the ground once more as I swiftly dealt with them and grew closer and closer to the leg.

“Fire Strike!” Immediately I could feel the heat begin to burn in my arms, the handle of the keyblade growing hot as flames began to toy around the blade. I tossed the keyblade forward, watching as it spun in the air and smacked directly into the leg of the creature, the fire beginning to seep into the crack that I created earlier from the slashing.

The leg cracked immediately under the pressure and it shattered along the ground as the heartless fell over to the side, screeching painfully loud. The keyblade boomeranged in the air and I caught it with a small jump. I smirked, blowing on the blade at the smoke that remained from the last attack. Finally, I could take this thing down once and for all. The leech heartless scrambled on the ground, the coffin falling from the bud as the last leg tried desperately to get back up and retrieve the coffin. The leg stabbed down into the ground and vines erupted from the ground, shrieking loudly. I huffed in annoyance as I took a ready stance. This is last attempt to stay alive, sadly, it's not gonna work. I dashed forward, cutting down all the vines that lunged at me before using a large, jagged rock to gain some height as I jumped up above the leech heartless.

I swung the blade upwards but that's when—

“Gah!”

I was knocked over in midair, a blast of wind sending me hurling towards the ground. Hitting the ground with a roll, I managed to stop myself and look up. Whatever remained of the heartless grabbed the coffin and jumped into the air. It spun around before striking the ground and dug deeply within the earth before disappearing without a trace. My eyes widen and all I could do was stare at where the heartless managed to escape from. A growl rumbled deep in my throat and I simply punched the ground in frustration. Damn it! It got away!

I heard something land on the ground beside me and I turned my head slightly to see Flare was there, her rod disappearing with the faint traces of leaves that followed. I stalked over to Flare as she casually wiped the dirt off her sleeves and slowly turned her head towards my general direction. Before she could even react, I grabbed both of her shoulders, digging my nails deeply into the fabric as I glared at her.

“What is the matter with you?!” I demanded as I shook her. “Why the hell did you let it get away!?”

But as the words escaped my mouth, I suddenly realized the answer. She’s an Organization member. They need to collect hearts. This thing was a parasite, if I had actually taken it out; imagine all the hearts that would’ve returned to their original owners. Flare wouldn’t have allowed such a thing to occur. She couldn’t. I snarled lowly, pushing her away from me as I wiped my hands on my coat. Flare stumbled back before she straightened herself out and began to smooth her hands over the part of her jacket that I grabbed, getting rid of any wrinkles.

“And I thought we could be civil for a moment,” Flare remarked lowly. Yeah right, like that would ever happen. My lips pursued angrily but I shook it off, glaring over at her as I rested my hand on my hip.

“All right then, if you want to act civil so be it.” My eyes narrowed. “Now tell me what I want to know, if you try to break that deal so help me the next time we meet I will break your bones”

Flare huffed in amusement, the hood shaking side to side as they lifted up. Her green eyes shined brightly in the darkness of the hood but all I could see was them slowly turn to slits, her stare becoming cold. “Fine, what is it that you want to know about Number XIV?” Flare asked dryly.

I gulped, recalling that tone when she had first used it in Castle Oblivion. She was slowly getting annoyed. I better be careful at this point. I breathed heavily throughout my nose before starting.

“What does the Organization want with her?” I began.

I could feel Flare studying me for the moments of silence that followed after my question. “You already know of the Organization’s goal” She began. “Xion has made a suitable addition to the group, she’s still learning how to wield the infamous keyblade but she will learn as did Roxas.”

“Who is she?!” The words snapped out quite quickly.

She placed a hand on her hip, extending her other arm out. “She is a nobody of course—” She answered in an obvious tone. I was about to snap at her but I drew back, growling faintly.

Wait a second, gotta keep calm here. I can’t start blab off about what she was telling was a load of bull. She would begin to suspect that I know something else! GAH! That’s how she was already able to make an assumption that I’m not from here. Here meaning Kingdom Hearts.

I glanced quickly up before running a hand over the top of my hood. My annoyance was only to begin to boil as I felt my lips tremble faintly. “Then one last thing….” My dark eyes lifted slowly to meet her light ones. “Why are Xion and Roxas so important?” I demanded lowly.

Flare did not move. Her hood was tilted towards the direction where the heartless had escaped to. My fist were tightening every second as I waited for her response. I could hear her huff amusingly, her head shaking slightly as I caught a quick glimpse of a sly smile.

“You must think very highly of me...if you expect me to even know the answer to that question” She turned her head, her green eyes meeting my brown. I clenched my teeth, flashing my keyblade out, the tip pointed directly at her.

“Kind of the opposite!” I retorted. “I can't—”

“Trust you?” She suddenly cut off. “Were you going to say that about me?”  I could see her smile suggestively as I hesitated for a moment before resuming my stance.

“Well, you seem to trust me enough to still be standing here.” She began to pace towards me. I didn't move, only tightened my grip on the handle of the keyblade as she grew closer.

“What is your true intents on finding out about Number XIV, Michelle? You don't know her....why is it that you’re suddenly so curious about her? Unless....”

Flare stopped walking towards me, the tip of the keyblade directly over her chest. I could clearly see the details of her face now, the sharp cheek bones, the dark hair that was cut awkwardly, and the forest green eyes that held much knowledge. I stiffened, holding onto my breath as we stared at each other. Her eyes glistened amongst the darkness.

“You know something that I don't?” She inquired. I stopped breathing at that moment and I could feel my eyes widen. Shit. My neck began to burn as I clenched my teeth tightly.

I lashed out, nearly cutting her throat but she managed to back-flip just in time to avoid it. She landed a few feet away as I stabbed the tip of the keyblade to the ground. I could see her smirk underneath the hood which only caused my frustration to grow.

“Honestly, that temper of yours is worsening every time we meet” She remarked. A dark portal began to form behind her as she took a step backwards. “Hopefully, we can 'discuss' more. Until then....” She smiled.

“Farewell” She backed into the darkness and disappeared from sight. Gone....she was gone again. And she left me stumped once again.

Silence fell over and I couldn't hear anything but a ringing in my ears. The ringing grew louder and louder and my hands began to shake. I began to breathe very deeply in and out as I tried my best to ignore the ringing but it only grew louder. Louder and louder and—

“AHHHHH!” I screamed out.

My voice sounded raw as I continued to scream to the dark, starless sky above. Finally, my voice gave out and I could barely feel my throat. I put a hand gently to my neck, messaging it lightly. My gaze fell to the ground and I began to head forward. I somehow managed to contact Namine and I tried my best to hide my cracked voice as I told her to open up a portal. I flipped my cell phone shut and exited the graveyard into the Town Square. My eyes wandered around, wondering what I'll be able to tell DiZ since...I didn't technically take out any emblem heartless. Freak, I was going to get it now. A squeak caught my attention and I looked up to see several...heartless?

I blinked a few times, watching as the little bug like heartless scampered around the ground. I slowly lifted my hand, not making any sudden noises before I finally stomped on the ground, catching most of the little heartless's attention. “Thundaga!” A large bolt of lightning hit the ground, instantly destroying any of the heartless that ran around the guillotine and the fountain. I huffed faintly, lowering my arm back to my side as I crossed the Town Square and exited through the gate. The dark portal waited for me at the end of the path and before I went through it, I turned around. I wonder....did...did she know that weakening the heartless would cause the other emblem heartless to come back?

I narrowed my eyes, facing back towards the swirling portal of darkness. “I wouldn't doubt it,” I murmured and then proceeded on going through the portal.

I can only wonder what was in store for when I got back.


	6. A Place to Call Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter is up and ready to roll. This is where the fun times begin ladies and gentlemen~ Anyways, chapters may now appear once or twice weekly now that I do have a job lined up for the next two weeks. They may even come very two weeks at the rate of how work will be. I hope it doesn't interfere much with writing but that's just a quick little update. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks you very much for reading and if you see this for the first time, don't be afraid to click the link on the bottom to read the first story to understand what's going on. 
> 
> I hope you all have a good day! 
> 
> Road~

** Day 260 **

“It's over!”

The heartless cried loudly, crashing onto the tiles below before dissolving into dark ashes and fading into the wind. I landed on the tiles of the rooftop and gripped tightly to prevent myself from sliding off. I glanced around, making sure the heartless was gone before standing up straight. That was the seventh target. Just one more to go before I could finally head back to Twilight Town. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing lowly. I slowly picked myself up and made my way to the flattest part of the rooftop, wondering where the last heartless could've possible be hiding. I scanned around, finding no heartless appearing on the rooftop or down in the courtyard. I exhaled, a puff of my breathe becoming visible due to the cold. I couldn’t believe what was going on. By now, I would've been back at the mansion and I would've been sleeping.

Starting three weeks ago, I’ve been on 5 separate missions a day. I’ve gotten lucky with one break maybe once a week, but that’s a rarity now. DiZ has presuming flipped his lid once he found out that Sora’s memories were slowing down. From the two missions I day I was doing, now I had to basically stop and sabotage the Organization missions if I had the chance while completely the extra three missions. Somebody better shoot my past self and tell her how grateful she was. I could only beg for the two missions a day again.

I sighed, grudgingly knowing that this was essentially to helping Sora. Namine had to tell DiZ at some point. When Namine had told me about Sora’s memories coming to a halt, I thought the world came crashing down on me. I could only imagine for DiZ that actual world was crashing. Whatever plans he had in mind now he had to rearrange it. I was really beginning to feel the stress in this situation and how this is only the beginning. My eyes narrowed when I thought back to the moment in the computer lab after DiZ had found out. That was not a pretty day.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_“DiZ, what are we going to do about this?” I demanded, darting my eyes over to the man. DiZ stood in front of his computer, his visible eye locked on the screen. It showed Sora’s current progress and it was locked in place. I was leaning against the wall after Namine had explained to DiZ in the Pod Room. I only followed him to make sure he wasn’t going to do something reckless. Though that wouldn’t be in DiZ’s nature to do such a thing in the first place._

_“I don’t think I can answer that at the very moment.” He answered lowly. My anger only seemed to flare at the moment but I kept a controlled stance. I sighed carefully, drumming my fingers against the cold surface of the metal wall. “Do you mean that you don't know or is it that you won't tell me?” I had asked again. DiZ did not move from his spot, his eyes seemingly locked on the computer. His hands were bounded to the keyboard, gripping the edges as if he was to stare at the screen long enough that something would change. Xion, Roxas, no matter how many scientific studies and statics we might had thought ahead, surely no one thought they would fight this hard to become their own person._

_“It is clear that not only is Sora’s Nobody causing this delay Nobody is delaying the process, but this female Nobody has only accelerated the process ” DiZ finally answered. He straightened himself up and began to head towards the Pod Room as I followed in tow. Once in the white room, I stared at DiZ who studied the pod that held my friend in there. Namine was still in the room, gazing over from the corner of her eye when we had entered. It wasn’t surprising that now she was going to be working extra diligently._

_“It may be a mere coincidence, but if she is the actual cause then she will be dealt with swiftly.”  DiZ exclaimed. My eyes widen, my throat tightening up as I felt caught off guard with that. Okay, I know eventually they’re going to have to go away….but so suddenly like that?_

_That look in his eye I don't know how to describe it but I felt—intimidated. At this point I did not make any move to try and act dumb again because acting dumb is going to get me in more trouble then I probably already am. After finding out too that Flare had spotted me, I’ve basically been compromised. He returned his focus back on me, his golden eye narrowing._

_“I want you to keep an especially close eye on this Nobody, Michelle.” He told me as he crossed his hands behind his back and passed me to leave the room. I didn't say anything but continued to look to the pod even as I heard his footsteps fade away from me. What was he going to do if I didn’t? I don’t know where Xion is all the time. I quirked my lips when DiZ momentarily stopped in the hallway._

_“From this point on, I’m doubling your missions. We need to work persistently now in order to halt the Organization's speeding progression of collecting hearts.” He added, his voice echoing from the hall. Then finally, it was silent. I was alone with the lingering thoughts of ‘how the heck am I going to accomplish this?’_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

I balled up my fist, letting out a stark sigh. I feel like DiZ’s hatred for the Nobodies is beginning to cloud his judgement. Has he forgotten about compassion and concern for others, if so, I haven’t heard it. I know why he has this deep hatred, but to actually see it unfold, it reminds me a lot of my dad. I sighed slowly, looking to the side at the mere idea of my dad. DiZ, be careful of the road you’re walking. You’re going to end up burning so many bridges if you continue to do so. I ran a hand through my dark locks, reaching down into the pocket of my jacket. Pulling out the index card, I ran through all the missions that I had accomplished so far. All that was left was the Bully Dog and a small following of Bad Dogs heartless to take out. I crossed my arms, walking carefully along the tile rooftop of Beast’s Castle. I hope no one notices the shattered glass remains when I was chasing after the last heartless. The fight continued on the rooftops till I smashed that thing over the head. I rather stay up here then take the chance of running into someone downstairs. I glanced downwards before immediately looking up. Holy crap I’m waaaaaay up high, didn’t think I was that far from the ground. I looked upwards, staring off to the starless sky and sighed lowly.

I am truly at a lost for what is to come. Honestly I don't want to even bother with thinking about it. I had stopped walking, having not been able to get over the news. Xion, the fourteenth member of Organization XIII...who exactly are you?

As much as I feel like I'm starting to figure out who Xion is, it only begins to get more confusing! Her story doesn't make that much sense! I rubbed my neck, glancing off towards the moon that hanged high up in the air. I've been playing more of the game recently, now on day 220. It seems like things are becoming much more complicated.

 'Ugh...Why do I have a feeling that she's connected to Sora just as much as Roxas is....?'

A creak in the roof tiles caused me to suddenly become tense, my whole body went to defense mode and I turned my head swiftly towards the source of the sound. My eyes widen in disbelief and I loosened up slightly.

“How about that...” I murmured lowly, turning around fully to face the cloaked figure.     

I actually began grinning, carefully moving my way closer to the new comer. Even though I held a grudge once before, it was actually a little appeasing to see after all these depressing missions. Once I was at least a few feet away, I put my hands on my hips as I saw the figure's arms move upwards and reach towards his hood, gently pulling it down. My smirk grew, finally seeing the familiar face revealed.

“Riku, it's been awhile,” I greeted. 

Nearing three months since I’ve last seen Riku, I can tell he has certainly grew up. His hair had grown longer, now reaching towards the center of his back. His coat seemed to fit more to his body and you could just see some of the muscles he must've gotten. Damn. Puberty has served you well Riku. I tilted my head, humming softly as I examined the blind-fold that still lingered on his face. I guess Riku was right that it would be a while till I would see him again. I mean, our missions were conflicting with one another to the point where I nearly forgot I wasn’t the only one doing missions. Guess DiZ is starting to load him with missions as well. Or was Riku doing his own recon missions? That was the whole point to find out more of what the Organization was doing. DiZ never really mentioned Riku that often so...did he really have Riku help?

“It has,” Riku agreed, “How has it been going at the mansion?”

I smiled painfully, looking away as I rubbed the back of my neck. How to explain this gently. Riku leaned against the part of the castle’s exterior wall, watching as I paced around, rubbing my neck gently.

“A lot has happened since you left, I suppose.” I acknowledged, my eyes beginning to wander. What the hell can I say about this in a simple manner? Riku raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms as he straightened himself and took a step forward. “Can I get the short version?”

 _'Short version?_ ' I thought, _'I don't think I can sum up a little less than a hundred days’ worth of craziness'_

 “I don't make any guarantees, but all right....” I sighed lowly, dropping my arms to my side before looking over at Riku.  Riku smirked gently, crossing his arms patiently. I inhaled before exhaling coolly, sliding my hands across the air. Rant time.

“So ever since you left, I’ve been going on a bunch of missions, finding really nothing useful about the Organization that we don’t know already. I did however find out some minor things, got into a fight with Flare, you remember her, lovely nobody that drove me crazy in Castle Oblivion? Well, she also has been promoted into the Organization, taking over Vexen’s spot. Whatever, fight ended, she tattled tale to her stupid superiors, I don’t even know if they care or not because my head is still not on a skewer—” I paused to glance over at Riku to make sure I didn’t lose him. Judging that he was still looking at me, I’m going to take it as a yes. I took in another breathe and continued on.

“Also, Sora's memory progression is slowing at a faster rate every day. Namine has concluded that Xion is probably causing it. DiZ knows now about her now and wants me to keep an eye on her. Because of all this, I’m now struggling with double the missions, every single day all by myself. With that, I’m trying to juggle missions, combating heartless, nobodies, Organization XIII, all in this very short time!”

I dragged out a long sigh once I had finished. I rubbed my cheek, glancing to Riku who seemed rather shock about the load of information I just dropped on him. Even with his blindfold, it’s kind of easier to see his facial expressions. I’ve learned that he stiffens up when met with undesirable news, kind of just freezes for a minute. Like he just lets the information sit in before actually saying something. That’s exactly what is making his shock worse is his silence. I can't tell if he's annoyed, angry, anything involving his emotions are a mystery to me. I grinned nervously, hoping that he wouldn't get too pissed. Finally, I saw Riku's muscles relax slightly and he stood a little taller now.

“DiZ knows?” He demanded, almost like to reconfirm what I had said.

I answered yes and he once again became quiet, his head turning to the side. I crossed my arms in front of me as I decided to head to the edge of the roof top. I glanced over the courtyard down below, noticing as heartless appeared in and out. The few that decided to stay lingered around the courtyard, wandering aimlessly before eventually disappearing back into the dark portal whence they had come from. My eyes narrowed at the sight of the heartless. No matter how many of those you got rid of, they would always come back. It annoyed me so much. Was their truly that much darkness possessed in people's hearts?

“All right then...”Riku finally spoke once again, turning his head back towards me, “How have you and Namine been holding up?” I smiled faintly at the gesture but it quickly washed away when I thought about it. I rubbed the back of my neck, unsure on how to explain it.

“We're holding on. Namine's been busy as usual,” I shrugged, “And you already heard my rant about how I’m on more missions than ever, fun times you know.” I reminded. Riku nodded briefly before my eyes narrowed at him.

“What about you?” I questioned curiously. Riku raised a brow. “What about me?”

“Where have you been for the past three months?” I demanded. “Ever since you left, I've been to each world more than once and yet I haven't caught notice of you at all! What could you have been possibly doing?”

Silence followed afterwards as the wind blew, the sound of the coats flapping was the only thing I was going to be hearing. My patience began to thin as I stared at Riku, waiting to see if he would answer. His lips drew to a thin line as his head tilted a bit to the other direction and I knew that was my answer. He wasn't going to answer me, I could already guess that. I sighed in annoyance and dropped my head, deciding I should give up. Something about him seemed off already, I could just sense it—

I lifted my head up, my eyes widening slightly. Wait a second, did he—

“Michelle! Watch it!” Riku's voice sliced through my thoughts as I suddenly felt his grip tightly on my wrist and pull me roughly to his side.

I nearly stumbled, bumping into his left arm but I recovered, turning on my heel to see a rather large dog hoping around the rooftops. The spot where I had been standing on was dented, many pieces of the rooftop were sliding off and falling to the ground, echoing the pieces shattering. I groaned, shaking my head.

“Oh great,” I complained, “There's the last bugger of a heartless I have to take care of.”

“The last heartless before your mission is done?” Riku asked.

I took a stance, my lunar breaker keyblade flashing to my hand and I nodded. Riku hummed lightly and then he took a step back, extending his arm back as his keyblade flashed into his hand. I blinked a few times, staring at him questionably when Riku smirked. “I guess I can help you out.”

“What makes you think I don't have this handled?” I asked, a bit offended at the thought.

Riku chuckled, turning his head towards the direction of the heartless that caused me to look back. The heartless was jumping around to one roof to the next, smashing on the roof tiles causing tiles to fly off to hit the floor below. My brows furrowed together. Why was he causing such a ruckus—Oh. OH. OH JEEZ!

“Beast!” I suddenly understood why Riku was willing to help. “Yeah, that heartless is making a lot of noise right now. I don't think you're in the best position to try and explain to the lord of this castle why you’re here.” Riku noted. I glanced down to the black cloak, groaning lightly as I tapped my head against the keyblade. Man, if Beast came out here, I would really be doomed.

“Okay, okay. Let's just take this thing out before it could make any more noises then it already is!” I stressed, noticing more tiles falling off to the side and creating loud echoing noises from the courtyard. I gulped. I hope we take this thing out quickly.

I whistled loudly, catching the attention of the jumping heartless, his ears perking up and his swirling eyes darting towards our direction. “Hey boy! You want a snack!” I extended my arms out, beckoning it over as Riku scooted off to the side. “Come and get it!” The heartless's tongue hanged out of its mouth as it loudly barked, leaping from the roof it was over to the one I was on, and charging towards me. I lifted my hand up, a reddish-orange glow beginning to emit from the center of my palm. “Fira!” The flames flew from my hand and into the open mouth of the heartless. The heartless skidded to a stop, swallowing the flames as it suddenly puffed up, smoke emitting from the closed mouth. I drew back, clenching my teeth in disbelief. Ehhh, it ATE my attack. The heartless burped out smoke before shaking its head and crouched down, readying itself for an attack.

“Any time would be nice, Riku” I remarked casually as I lifted my keyblade up in defense.

Riku finally came over, slashing at the heartless causing its attention to be diverted to him and charged at him, snapping its teeth at him. Riku skillfully dodged them, flipping backwards with one hand as his keyblade slashed across, catching whatever hits he could still make. The heartless whined from the pain, shaking its head before barking, vibration waves heading to his direction. Riku landed on his feet, raising his keyblade up before striking down, a wave of darkness following afterwards and cutting the attack in half. I clenched my teeth, noticing as more and more tiles were falling off the rooftop, creating loud noises. I took a step before leaping forward to attack.

“Ya!”

I landed a hard hit against the back of the heartless before beginning my assault. The heartless's attention was divided, trying to snap at us while trying to protect itself from the incoming attacks. Besides, we switched sides often, moving too quickly for this thing to even comprehend. Tiles were beginning to fall down as a result and I caught notice of Riku's worried look about it. The dark suddenly spun around causing Riku and I to retreat back. I narrowed my eyes and looked over to Riku.

“So what's the plan now?” I asked. Riku shrugged slightly. “Might as well stop playing with this thing” Riku suggested. I smirked, facing back to the heartless. “Sounds good to me”

The heartless crouched, steam starting to pop from the ears as the body began to turn a shade of red. Okay, that was clear to tell that it was getting angry. It barked loudly, suddenly summoning three small heartless dogs, all of them beginning to bounce around the larger one before two of them decided to head over to my direction, teeth open wide. I rushed forward, catching one of the dogs as it latched onto my keyblade, shaking its body as it tried pulling my keyblade away from my grip.

“We're not playing tug and pull here, doggy” I grunted, shaking the keyblade harder to try and get rid of the hold this little heartless had on it. The other heartless was charging right at me, barking quite loudly as another tile fell to the ground. My eyes widen and I stopped struggling for a split second, glancing at the charging heartless and then to the one that was on my keyblade before I grinned. I swung my arm out, grabbing hold of it with both my hands, getting into a batter position as the heartless jumped up into the air.  I gave a toothy grin as I swayed my keyblade a bit.

“Hey batter, batter, batter, SWING!” I slammed the side of the keyblade with the heartless on it right into the other heartless. The heartless that charged was sent flying off the rooftop, whining out in pain as it fell from my sight. The heartless that was on my keyblade simply fell from my keyblade, its tongue sticking out its mouth as it suddenly disappeared into black ashes.

I smirked, swinging my keyblade in my hand before I turned to face Riku rushing towards the larger heartless. The smaller heartless caught notice of this, jumping up to try and attack him but Riku cleanly cut in half before continuing forward. The heartless let out a mighty bark, its vibration nearly sending Riku back but he managed to dodge it. He lashed out a series of combos against the heartless, avoiding most of the ‘would be’ chomps to the body.

I quickly went over to the heartless, jumping on it from the back and slammed the head of the keyblade onto its head. The heartless whined loudly, shaking its head roughly as I stumbled on top of it. I circled my arms forward as I tried to keep balance on the heartless. The heartless seemed to have become dizzy with the attack, now it was stumbling around trying to rid of me.

“Uh, not good, not good!” I shouted, continuously swinging my arms.

Finally, it shook so hard that I fell off it, hitting the loosen tiles of the rooftop. The heartless growled, turning to me when suddenly black flames hit the side of the heartless causing the heartless to be destroyed once and for all. I looked to the right, seeing that Riku was there, the dark fire lingering a few feet from his direction. I sighed slightly in relief, leaning back against the rooftop when I suddenly heard a crack. My eyes widen, already feeling that the tiles wouldn't be able to handle my weight and the next second I felt myself sliding down the rooftop. I flipped onto my stomach, gripping onto anything I could possibly grab onto but they simply broke off from the rooftop or I didn't grab it in time. Shoooooot—

I felt nothing from the lower part of my body and before I knew it, I was about to start free-falling off the roof. I gasped loudly, slamming my hands onto the edge of the rooftop and my fingers managed to stick to something. My body swayed out before centering itself in midair as I clutched onto the rooftop for dear life. I gritted my teeth tightly, feeling like they would break under the pressure. I didn't know how long I would be able to hold on for, man, I really need to gain some upper muscleeeesss!

Just as I thought the worse was over, that's when I heard it. The ground-shaking roar that sent shivers up and down my entire body. I carefully looked down, seeing the doors of the castle being thrown open and several heartless being thrown along with it. Some of the heartless disappeared in an instant while others rolled across the courtyard, picking themselves up quickly. I gulped lowly seeing as Beast stepped out the castle, stalking forward as some reckless heartless charged forth. Instantly Beast swung his arms out, smashing down the heartless into nothingness as they even tried and attack him. He roared loudly and whatever other heartless that were there left immediately. I could feel sweat beginning to trail down my face as I tried to heave myself up but failed leaving me to hang there in silence. I glanced down again, seeing that he was scanning the area and I could fear began to eat at me at the moment.

 _'Don't catch his attention, don't catch his attention!'_ I kept reminding myself as I once again tried to lift myself up.

I managed to pull myself up slowly, pulling my stomach up and all I had to get what my legs now. But just as I grabbed hold of something, the tile broke off from the rooftop and I nearly slid off again.

“Oh—“I turned my head, seeing the tile falling down to the ground. “—freak” I squeaked.

Before that tile crashed, I suddenly felt something grab hold of my free arm and began pulling me up. I quickly pushed myself up with my other arm and I stumbled up as Riku pulled me to the side of the tower. The tile shattered against the ground and I could hear a vicious gruff coming from Beast’s direction. I pressed myself to the side of the tower, keeping myself in the shadows as I glanced over. It seems Beast did catch notice of the noise but before he could even investigate, a soft voice called out to him. I narrowed my eyes, knowing immediately it was Belle. After a few minutes, Beast finally went back into the castle and all was but quiet once again. I sighed heavily in relief, putting a hand over my chest as I felt it still rising up and down rapidly from before. I turned my head to Riku, seeing that he was looking over as well.

“Well, that was close.” I admitted meekly.

“Thanks Riku, I owe you one.” I stepped away from him and sighed once again, trying to calm myself down. Riku moved next to me, looking down at me. “I'll keep that in mind” He acknowledged.

Riku took a step forward and raised his hand up, a dark portal forming underneath his hand. Finally, going back to Twilight Town. I felt relief at the moment but....something was bugging me.

“Hey Riku” I suddenly called out. Riku turned to me, raising a brow. “This time...you're coming back and staying right? To help Namine, DiZ, and I with trying to get Sora back?” I asked carefully. That would be great if he did come back. That could hopefully distract DiZ a bit and lighten my load of work. Riku remained quiet for a minute before turning his back to me to face the portal.

“I'll give you an answer once we head back to the mansion and I speak with DiZ,” Riku answered. I frowned slightly but shook my head. Well, it's at least better than saying no but now it's going to bug me. Hopefully he answers soon.

“Now come on, let's head back.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sora’s Pod Room

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Now you've returned to assist us in our endeavors,”

“I'm not here to help with whatever you have in mind, I’m here to help _him._ ”

My ear was pressed against the door, trying to listen in on what Riku and DiZ were discussing. It's been going on for a little while now but I could not catch everything they were saying. They were pacing around in his computer lab. I was just going to stay in the shadows of the hallway and run up the stairs in case they notice me. Only reason why I’m trying to overhear is because I’m curious to see if Riku will say anything about his mission. When we had returned to the mansion, he never mentioned anything except that at some point, King Mickey and he decided to go on their separate ways. It was during that time that King Mickey helped me out back two weeks ago. Lucky timing I guess. Still, it makes me curious, I wonder what happened between Riku and Mickey that the two had to split up.

My eyes narrowed as I glanced down to the doorway again, staring patiently. Well, hopefully I would be the first to find out. DiZ seemed rather surprised that Riku was back again. He didn’t even bother to tell me the missions for the next day. So I have time to relax and actually enjoy my life. I waited against the door, I could hear their footsteps fading away and I sighed in annoyance, sitting down on the staircase. I rested my chin on my hand, blowing a strand of my hair off my face only for it to return back to its original spot. After five minutes of lingering silence, I decided to get up and began to head up the stairs. This is getting boring, I don't know how the heck I managed to even stay there for so long. How long was I down there for?

An hour or something. I don't know, I lost track of time.

I reached the top of the stairs, entering the library and momentarily looked around, wondering if I would ever have time to actually read of these books. I turned around, heading over to the door and grabbed the knob when I heard something. Talking, growing louder by the second and clearer to understand. I slowly turned my head, hearing the swish of the door from down stairs opening. My body froze before I realized something. I'm still in the room. I swung the door immediately open, flipping out in the meantime, gently closing it behind me as I sprinted down the stairs and ran across the main floor of the mansion. I looked around, knowing it would be too easy if I went back to Namine's room. That would be the first place they would check if they were looking for me. So I decided to go to the one room no one really has bothered to use. The Dining Room.

I rushed over to the left hand side of the room and entered the Dining Room. I shut the door behind me closed, my back pressed against the door, feeling my chest heave slightly but I slowly drew in a deep breath before turning and pressing my ear against the door. I heard the sounds of footsteps creaking along the stairs before they came to the tiled floor below, echoing throughout the floor as I listened closer. Please don't come to this room, please don't come to this room. I just don't want to explain why I was waiting by the door. It's my business and my business alone. I gripped the metal chains of the dark coat, trying to eliminate as much noise as possible as I waited. I heard the sound of pacing footsteps coming closer to the direction of the room as I held my breath. Well I was getting caught. Was it DiZ? For the love that is all good, please let it be Riku!

Just as I thought the steps were heading to the door, they stopped. I stared at the door, my teeth clenched nervously as I waited in anticipation. That feeling like someone was near was just killing me. Steadily, I heard the footsteps retract and move away, heading to the opposite direction and I could hear the stairs creak as the person walked away. I waited a few moments until the footsteps were gone before I sighed loudly in relief, slumping against the door.

That was close.

I slowly slid down the wooden door before sitting down on the ground, staring broadly into the room. Man, this room got a good thrashing.

The center table of this room was smashed, remaining untouched since its inevitable destruction some time ago by the chandelier. Bookshelves laid untouched as well, dust beginning to build up on the furniture and the creepy armored soldier that stood guard next to a small counter. I rested my arms on my knees, looking around. I can't believe I’m here like this. Just...acting like a freaking prisoner or something in this old mansion. I feel like I’m going to end up being a piece of the property soon. I sighed lowly, shaking my head. I've been stuck in here for too long. I need to get out, get some air. I turned my head slightly, glancing to the door behind me. I didn't have to go on a mission today nor was I expecting to do anything right now since DiZ seems to be a bit per-occupied lately.  Did I really want to waltz out there and risk having DiZ come out, demanding what I was about to do?

Pssh. No.

I stood up, wiping the dust off the black coat before I began walking across the room. A couch was settled just below a window in which was kind of high up but eh, I’ll manage. I steadied my feet on the edge of the couch, looking up as I tried making sure I wasn't just going to just tilt this thing forward and I would crash and burn on the floor. I positioned myself before leaping up, just barely grasping the edge of the window. I groaned, dropping my head as I tried pulling myself up. After a few minutes, I was finally able to open the window and rest between it, panting for a second before looking out. Jeez I really have no upper body strength, I have to work on that. I sighed lightly before turning myself, putting my legs out as they danged out the window and I looked forward, seeing the ground wasn't too far away. I shrugged slightly, pushing myself off from the ledge and leaped off to the ground below. I landed safely on the ground, my legs shaking slightly as I straightened up and smiled in success.

All right. That went better than I expected.

I turned around, about to head off when I heard a crash. I stopped, shutting my eyes as I heard glass fall onto the ground and shatter. I turned my head, seeing part of the window had fallen, pieces of glass scattered all over the grass. I stared at the glass before looking up to the window and then turned hastily to get the heck out of there. If that wasn't screaming trouble, I don't know what else would've. I barged through the gates, quickly turning on my heel as I raised my hand up watching as the gate slowly closed back up. The keyblade flashed into my hand and the tip of the keyblade began to illuminate as a symbol of a lock began to glow on the gate as well. A light beam shot out from the tip, hitting the lock symbol as it began to grow brighter and brighter before dimming down, an actual lock being present now on the gate.

I nodded once, satisfied with the handy work before continuing to head on into the forest.

It became notably darker as I entered the forest. I walked around, passing by the trees and looked up, the leafs of the tree branches bunched together to form a sort of covering, even the light of day could not fully penetrate through, creating a sort of shadowy feel in here. Maybe that's why no one really comes to the mansion, the forest kind of brings this creepy feeling that I’m not going to make it out. Or that someone is watching me. My eyes flickered around, the paranoia beginning to build up as I hastily moved around the trees, finding my way to the edge of the forest. As much as I would _love_ to stay around in this forest, I have better things to do. I paused, glancing through a man-made hole that connected the forest to the town.

This might actually be the first time I would go to Twilight Town for my own benefit. I could do whatever I want. Go get some ice cream, get some new clothes, be among normal people. I could board the train and end up in the Mysterious Tower, I can meet Yen Sid. That actually sounds tempting. Everything sounds tempting as long as I’m away from the mansion.

I exited the hole in the wall, holding a hand above my eyes as the bright light of the mid-afternoon sun shone down on everything. I blinked a few times before looking up past the buildings to the sunset sky. It's been a while since I actually walked through the town, it's actually been a while since I stepped foot in this town without a mission being involve. I exhaled loudly, turning around to look into the hole in the wall. I smiled, about to start walking away when I caught myself, realizing that I shouldn't be wearing the black coat right now.

“Hmm....” I scratched my head, wondering if I should even take this thing off. I would be attracting a lot of attention if I go waltzing around in this. I do have clothes under this but those are kind of getting tight. I think the attention I would get for that is even worse. I looked down to the outfit then back up, down, up, before sighing loudly.

I decided to slip out of the black coat, looking down at my old outfit, cringing slightly at the sight. Wooow. It's been such a long time since I have actually seen my old outfit. My sneakers were basically falling apart. My jeans and shirt were showing signs of tears and the upper part of my shirt was becoming tight. Heh, I guess I’m still growing and coffee does not stop growth!

 Yeah, I really needed to get new clothes.

I slipped my hand into my pocket, feeling that I had some kind of munny in there. That would probably be enough to get me some clothes. I nodded, tucking the black coat neatly and went through the hole in the wall and hid the jacket in a bush in the forest before returning out. I looked kind of normal now. A bit…clothes were pretty tight. My eyes wandered around, making sure there was no signs of heartless and certainly no signs of nobodies. Once the coast was clear, I began heading off down the street, quickly asking directions for the closest clothing store on this side of town.

::FFW::

“Please come again!”

“Thank you ma’am!”

I waved thanks to the owner of the shop I just got my new clothes in, smiling as I turned around the corner and sighed in satisfaction. I'm soooo glad that she was so understanding and didn’t even bother asking why I decided to wear clothes that were beginning to become small for someone like me. I slung the bag over my shoulder, walking around as I admired the new clothes I decided to put on now. New black sneakers, dark jeans, and a beige long-sleeve shirt, one of three other outfits I got. I signed, feeling actually relaxed at the moment. This must have been the first time in a few months that I have actually done something for myself and not worry about the consequences. Namely cause no one knows but who cares, let’s continue on. I walked down the street, my eyes wandering around to the stores, seeing the people of the town flock around. Twilight Town was honestly not a bad town. I actually like it here. It’s pretty much peaceful—well, when there’s no heartless or nobodies jumping around—but that’s beside the point.

I wouldn’t mind living here if—

I paused, slowly walking out of the town square until I made it to the sandlot. I blinked a few times, recalling the sentence. Living here—having an actual home. I still haven’t found out where is my home. Then again, those who are there aren’t my actual family. It wouldn’t be the same if I were to replace the girl’s spot in the family. I sighed gently, rubbing my neck as I thought about my actual home.  

“Is…is my home even out there anymore?” I murmured.

I knew when I took my chance with Hoshi and decided NOT to return to my world. I didn’t know if the consequences would mean that I would never return to my world. _My_ world. The earth with my family, kingdom hearts being only a video game, and simply reality.I rested my hand against the building beside me, my palm scrapping against it gently to feel the rough concrete. This is my new reality and I had to accept that at some point. I already made the decision. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing lowly. Maybe Hoshi should’ve mentioned the confusion that would’ve come with this whole ‘Universe switch’ or whatever the hell happened. Well, I still have the chance to see her again. Only when I hit the lowest point. I rubbed the back of my neck, my lips pursued as I leaned against the wall.Well that put a damper to my day.

“Hey!”

My eyes narrowed as I looked down, seeing someone was heading over to my direction with three in his tow. I stared cautiously at the male wearing the white trench coat outfit and his bandana. Wait, is that Seifer?

“Heh?” I narrowed my eyes, leaning forward slightly to get a better look when the four stopped nearby, Seifer stopping as he looked at me with a smug expression.

“Well look at this, haven't seen you around before, new girl in town?” Seifer asked. I could not tell if he was directing the question to me or to his friends causing me to raise a brow. I relaxed my arms to my side, placing one hand on my hip as I tilted my head.

“Yeaaaaah. I'm new, I recently moved to Sunset Terrance.” I answered slowly.

I glanced to Seifer then to Rai on his right side then over to Fuu on his left. Both of them were acting as if they were his body guards or something. Behind all three of them, peaked Vivi who looked at me between the open spaces, his yellow eyes staring curiously at me from the darkness of his hat. I blinked once, suddenly having a relapse with Vivi giggling evilly. Gosh, that is kind of scary when I come to think about it, this little guy being evil?

“Any chance you got a name, girly?”

My brow twitched in annoyance as I focused my attention back up to Seifer. I crossed my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes. “It's Michelle,”

“Michelle huh?” Seifer turned his head slightly to the others, Fuu and Rai both shaking their heads.

“Well, since your new and all, I’m just going to give you some...'friendly' advice” Seifer began causing me to raise a brow suspiciously. What the heck would he even want to tell me?

”Don't try to cause trouble here, or else you'll be seeing us again real soon” Seifer warned, looking at me as if I would've been a potential trouble-maker. I could feel my eyes widen by a traction as I suddenly took a defensive stance, glaring at Seifer. He had a lot of nerve trying to talk to me like this.

 “Hey!”

A stick suddenly hit Seifer's head causing the blonde to wince in annoyance, turning around enough to allow me to see the one who threw it. There stood a guy with spiked blonde hair, wearing his signature camouflage clothes and stared challengingly at Seifer. Now that’s not someone who I was expecting to be my knight in shining armor. Or at least my amigo in camouflage.

“Seifer, why don't you just go and bother someone else?” Hayner demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. Seifer scoffed, turning his full attention towards the other male.

“Get lost loser, people like you are the reason why the Disciplinary Committee was made.” Seifer said. Hayner rolled his eyes, brushing off the remark as he crossed his arms. It looked like he wasn’t going to budge till Seifer moved on. Seifer huffed before turning back to face me.

“Later new girl. I hope you know better to hang out with a loser like him. Or else this won’t be the last time you see the Disciplinary Committee.”

“Fantastic, can’t wait.” I murmured, rolling my eyes. Seifer and his gang left without another word as I was left with Hayner. Moments after two others joined Hayner, panting as one exclaimed that Hayner ran too fast for his own good. “Seifer’s nothing but a bully, don’t worry about him,” Hayner noted as he gestured to himself, “Names Hayner, and these are my friends Pence and Olette.”

“Hey,” Pence waved weakly, still resting his hands on his knees. Olette smiled, waving a hand as I returned the gesture, “Hello.”

“Hey, thanks for back there. I don’t think I could have stand taking another minute of his inflated ego.” I expressed sincerely. Hayner laughed as he nodded. “Yeah, he thinks he runs this town with an iron fist or something…cocky.”

“Haha, I kind of got the impression.” I joked and laughed lightly.

“So we overheard that you’re new here. Do you want us to show you around?” Olette offered.

“Nah,” I waved my hand, politely rejecting the offer as I smiled at the three. “I actually only came here to do some shopping before heading home. I’ll be fine, but maybe we can catch each other again.” I said brightly. Olette smiled, nodding her head.

 “Sounds like a plan” Pence agreed, nodding as well while Hayner crossed his arms across his chest. “Maybe we can hang out next time, show you around the town,” Olette offered.

“That sounds great,” I nodded slowly before relaxing my hands into my jean pockets, leaning slightly back. “Thanks again for helping me out back there, I'll see ya soon!”

Olette and Pence waved while Hayner gave a two finger salute as I waved, walking backwards before turning around and exiting the sandlot. I had left the sandlot, my smile fading slowly as I glanced to the sky, loosing myself in thought as I continued walking. I eventually came to the part the part where I was able to look over and look into the center of the Market Street, seeing some civilians wandering around, most notably, I caught site of Hayner, Pence and Olette making their way around. I watched as Hayner had Pence in a headlock, Pence patting his arm as to try and get out of the male's grip.

“H-Hayner! Stop it!” Pence pleaded.

“What?” Hayner replied defensively, blocking Pence's slap to release him from the grip. Olette sighed, hiding her face away from the two.

“Guys, stop messing around or we'll lose our place in line, or worse, get kicked out of line because of you two,” Olette scowled.

I watched from a distance, smiling as I could see how much of a bond the three held.

Hayner, Pence, Olette.

It was weird seeing those three together. Just them. Every time I think of them, I think Roxas is with them too, running late to catch up for some ice cream. That was all fake though, Roxas has friends too, real friends. Axel and Xion. It’s weird and depressing to imagine that those were all stripped away from him. I glanced downwards, thinking how heart breaking it actually is. He's going to lose everything, everything he ever held dear. I frowned slightly, moving away from the corner as I flipped open my cell phone, checking the time. Shoot, I have to head back now. I shut it close, glancing back once more to look at the trio as they finally reached the front of the line, Olette paying as Hayner and Pence grabbed their ice-cream and Olette finally received her own. The three smiled as they began to head off the opposite direction, probably to the Usual Spot. I smiled and then began to leave to head back to the mansion. It took about half an hour before I finally made it to the locked gates. I casually slipped back into the black coat and unlocked the gates to head back in. I carefully shut the door closed behind me, sighing. Well, I made it back home all right. I feel fine, real great—

“Well, looks like someone finally decided to show up.”

My entire body instantly froze, my eyes bulging open as my eyes shot around the empty room. That's when my eyes trailed up the stairs and my eyes was instantly drawn to the black coat at the top of the stairs. I blinked twice before shrinking against the door, nervously laughing.

“How long...did you know I was gone?” I asked, clenching my teeth lightly as I looked at Riku, his arms on his side. “Long enough, Michelle, let's go.”

I looked up, suddenly raising a brow as Riku came down the stairs. “Let's go?” I repeated bewildered. “Now exactly where are you planning to head off with me in tow?”

He stepped onto the floor and walked over to me, quickly glancing over his shoulder before looking in my direction. “Destiny Island.”


	7. Collecting Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter is short compared to what i've normally been doing, only reason why I left it as it is was due to the fact that the next chapter didn't feel like it belonged with this one. It was a bit two different. So i decided to keep them separate. Though that also means the next chapter should be coming fairly soon~ Thanks for reading and i hope you all have a great day~

_ Number XIV _

_ Day 276 _

The sound of the ocean waves drifting onto the shore before pulling back was mesmerizing as I sat on the sandy shore, my arms resting on my knees as I stared at the water. Waves would come close and splash onto my sneakers before pulling back, sinking my body slightly into the sand. It was calming here on Destiny Island. When I thought about home; it was calm, sure, extremely boring, but things happened that made home feel dreary. Like I felt like I didn’t have any hope there. I was always looking for some form of escape. Destiny Island however, though it rang a familiar vibe, it still carried this warmth. The kind of warmth you would be willingly ready to lay down on the sand to watch those waves. I shut my eyes, letting my senses focus on the sound of the waves, the soft noises of the island's birds and animals.

I wonder....what made this place so special?

“This place is beautiful…” I murmured lowly. I wish I could stay here forever, I really wouldn't mind to. I could only wonder why Sora, Riku, and Kairi wanted to get away from this place. What would want to drive you away from home. I scoffed softly, immediately retorting myself as a hypocrite. Why did I want to leave home so badly in the first place?

“Michelle,”

My eyes slowly opened up again, frowning as my faint escape from reality was severed. I turned around seeing Riku was walking over to me, passing the boat that never took sail last year. We've had to stay under cover for most of the time while we stayed on Destiny Island. Namely hanging out on the other side of the island, where they had their races and ran around to hit that star shaped object. It was odd, I didn't know exactly what it was but it really did light up when you touched it. Either way, nobody came to this side of the island apparently. Except that one day that Tidus and Wakka decided to pop up on the other side of the island. I remember Tidus and Wakka talking how no one came anymore, not even Stelphie or Kairi. Kairi apparently hasn't even stepped foot on the island since she came back. I wonder….if it has to do with the promise she made for Sora.

I shook my head before glancing back to Riku with a quick, “What's up?”

“Something came up.” Riku answered briefly, taking a moment to look towards the ocean momentarily. I tilted my head, a faint ‘huh’ escaping from my lips. I maneuvered away from the small boat and rested my palms firmly on my hips. “What do you mean something came up? Do we have to leave?” I asked. I could only imagine that Riku was rolling his eyes at me right now as he crossed his arms patiently.

“We'll find out.” He responded.

I sighed, gesturing to Riku so he could lead the way. I feel like he has the rights to lead, this is his home world after all. I pocketed my hands and casually walked across the sandy shore, feeling the water rush over my sneaker, seeping in a little bit before we headed up the stairs and across the small bridge. At least they fixed the part of the bridge that always broke because that would've been painful to walk across. With my luck I would've fallen right through. Riku led the way, opening the door to the other side of the island and allowing for me to walk by him. The sound of sea gulls overheard caused me to look up to the bright cerulean sky, blinking at the sunlight. It was absolutely gorgeous, seeing the small island where the trio hanged out. Nothing seemed wrong here. No heartless, darkness, no weird vibes. I turned to Riku, a brow arched up as the corner of my lip fell slightly, giving him a rather odd look from my perspective.

“This is it?” I asked in a deadpanned tone. Riku shut the door behind him, turning his head over to me as he nodded, walking over to my side.

“Yeah, come on.”

Riku led the way as I glanced around, looking up to the wooden bridge up above that connected the main part of the island to the smaller island that rested a little ways into the ocean. Passing right under that bridge, I didn't understand what 'hunch' Riku even had in the first place. Maybe he didn't want to go to the island by himself, knowing all that had happened her all in one night. I glanced over to Riku, slowing my pace till I stopped under the wooden bridge. I wonder....does he miss his home? Does he miss any of his family?

_“Xion!”_ My eyes widen, snapping my attention around. Wait, did I hear that right sound correctly. I snapped my attention back over to find Riku on the other side of the bridge, looking towards my direction.  “Riku, did you hear that?” I questioned hastily, rushing after him. He nodded briefly, leading the way.  

I blinked once, carefully following after Riku as he turned to the right, heading towards the shed, holding open the door as I quickly entered. Riku led the way up the darkened stairs almost effortlessly while my hand was sliding amongst the wall and taking each and every step carefully. Jeez, even with blindfolds he knew where he was going, although he must've memorized each and every step by now. Riku stopped at the top of the steps, gently pushing open the door as the light of daytime shone causing me to wince lightly. I blinked a few times before quickly moving up the stairs to join him up there. He stood by the doorway, his head facing forward as I glanced to him and looked forward as well. But I didn't really expect to see an Organization XIII member there.

“What?!” I gasped. “What is the Organization doing here!?”

The Organization's member back was facing us as they stared off into the distant blue ocean for who knows what reason. I felt my muscles tighten and I took a cautious step, raising my arms up in a defense position. If it's Flare I swear to God I am going to kick her in the gut, if it's Axel, same story. Without noticing, Riku had placed a hand on my shoulder causing me to look up at him questionably.

“Hold on, something doesn't seem right.” Riku responded, his grip on my shoulder tightening a bit before he released it. I lowered my guard, blinking once before facing forward again. I watched as the Organization member seemed to be looking around when the hood fell off, blonde spikes of hair appearing as the head turned and I got a good glimpse of the face and shining blue eyes. “Roxas?” The name slipped out in a whisper. Suddenly Roxas gripped his head and then...this static just appeared before my eyes. I blinked several times, seeing Roxas was now Riku. My eyes widen in disbelief as I saw the changes flip back and forth between Riku and Roxas. This was a younger version of Riku too, what the heck was going on?!

 “....What is going on....?” I muttered as I saw the apparent changes back and forth. He fell on his knees before falling onto his side. I am completely lost and so confused. “Tell me you see what I’m seeing?” I asked nervously as Riku remained strangely quiet by my side.

I swear, I remember seeing something like this before. My breath suddenly stopped, my eyes widening in realization. It was Xion, it had to be! She then suddenly shifted to Sora and I gasped loudly and I could see Riku stiffen beside me. Xion was thrashing against the ground in pain, gripping her head tightly in pain. Her form was shifting back and forth between her own original one and Sora's. I stared painfully at the scene before me, turning to Riku with a grim expression.

“Should we help her?” I asked unsurely. She's still an Organization member, I honestly didn't know if she would attack us after this. More importantly, how the heck would we be able to help her?

I rubbed my head unsurely as Riku began moving across the wooden bridge and I couldn't help but follow after him hastily, seeing Xion seemingly ready to get up again, still shifting between forms but I could tell she wasn't going to be able to stay standing up. She cried out loudly, the forms suddenly stopping as she was herself once again before falling back. I stumbled, trying to reach her in time to catch her but Riku beat me to it as he was quick to my side, easily picking her in his arms as he knelt down and rested her on the ground. I skidded next to him, blinking once or twice at his sudden movements. Well, that was a bit unexpected. I stared widely at the girl in his arms, trying to make sure this was the real deal. It was painfully obvious that it was.

“Is this Xion?” I asked, glancing over to Riku for confirmation. He has seen her once before. Riku knelt down beside her, running a hand through her chopped dark hair, “Yeah, this is her.” This was her. The girl who was never meant to exist.

“What is she doing here?” I murmured, glancing wearily back and forth. She couldn’t have come alone, could she? I mean she should be on a mission unless this is where she was supposed to have her mission. I hummed but gasped lightly when I heard her stirring in her sleep.

“Who am I…what am I….here for?”

Riku and I glanced to each other momentarily before he pushed back her bangs again. I blinked once or twice, standing there awkwardly. “Oh what the hell…” I decided to sit down across from Riku and Xion. I propped my chin on my fist, resting my elbow on my knee as I stared at the unconscious girl. “I wonder what was happening to her, that seemed pretty brutal...whatever she was going through that is,” I thought out loud. “It's the memories...” Riku answered briefly.

“Memories?” I repeated, looking up at Riku. He nodded, confirming my thoughts. “They're starting to conflict against each other, her current memories and Sora's memories.”

 “So, that's why she became like Sora and Roxas during those moments...but....” I trailed off, glancing down at Xion before looking at Riku directly. “Why you?”

He didn't respond immediately, staring down at the replica that rested in his arms. I frowned lightly. That was the question of the year I suppose. It didn't seem to make sense, unless she was relieving a memory that had involved Riku in it. But...what memory would've involved Riku like that, ugh, I scratched my head at the ideas. Unless she picked up a memory from the Riku Replica.

“I don't know....” Riku finally answered. Yup. Let's just leave it as a question that may never be answered. I crisscrossed my legs and crossed my arms, humming thoughtfully.

“Hmm?” Riku turned his head to look over the bush beside him causing me to raise a brow at his actions. “What?” I got onto my knees, stretching as much as I could to peer over the bush to see nothing but the door that led to the other side of the island. “I don't see anything...”

“It was nothing...” Riku responded, his head facing back to Xion. I looked at him unsurely, peering once more over the bush before settling back onto the ground and waited. An hour seemed to actually pass by as we just waited for her nightmare to go. She looked like she was suffering right now and I couldn’t help but feel a ping of sympathy to her. Well, maybe a bit more than a ping. For someone who is a fake, a mere replica, it must be the worst feeling in the world to know that you're meant to go away one day in time. I tapped my fingers against my knee, feeling rather awkward of the silent moments along with Xion's occasional groans on pain. My thoughts were beginning to travel back as I thought about Xion's fate....and Namine's. I blinked slowly, turning to Riku. I wonder....

“So, have you talked to Namine about all this?” I asked the male with a raised brow. Riku looked down at Xion momentarily before looking at my direction. “Yeah, when I returned to the mansion we talked about it, you should remember—”

“Eh?”  I looked back up in shock. He caught me spying on him??

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_“I wasn’t sure I’d see you again,” Namine's voice stated lucidly._

_My pace slowed down, coming to a completely stop by the door way of the White Room. This was Namine's favorite room in the house. It was a simple white walled room, yet she lined it all with her drawings.  She would spend most of her time drawing in here when she wasn't trying to fix Sora's memories. I blinked a few times, surprised that she was actually in here. But...who was she talking to?_

_“You made me a promise.” A deeper voice responded causing me to roll my eyes. Riku. Of course. Who else would be sitting in there....?_

_I stepped closely to the slightly ajar door, my fingers slipping to pull the door a bit more open to get a good view inside without anyone noticing. Once I did so, I saw Namine and Riku sitting at the long white table in the room, each sitting at the end of the table. “To look after Sora. I remember,” Her smile faded as she looked to her knees, “I’m sorry. I’m not sure I’ve kept that promise very well.”_

_“What happened?” Riku asked._

_“Some of Sora’s memories are missing.” Nanami explained._

_“How can that be?”_

_“They’re escaping through Sora’s Nobody into a third person—and now they’re starting to become a part of her” Namine answered, looking down at her sketchpad sadly._

_“You can’t get the memories back out?” Riku questioned._

_“If they’re still separate…then yes, I think so. But if they join with her memories, things get a lot more complicated. I would need to untangle her memory before I could finish Sora’s. What was supposed to take months might take years.” She paused, almost regretting what she had admitted. My eyes bugged out with years echoing upon my lips. We didn't have years Namine, we only have one. You manage to do it, let's not give our hopes up here or else we're all doomed._

_“DiZ would be furious,” Namine pointed out. Oh hell yes he would be furious. I wouldn’t even want to begin to imagine what DiZ would do if he were to find out that Namine couldn’t finish Sora’s memories right now. Riku hummed lowly, his hand tapping against the table._

_”So what’s the solution.” Riku asked indifferently. Namine exhaled deeply through her nose, her eyes dropping to the table. Silence emitted from the room as I held my breath, trying as best I could to stay quiet._

_“If I try to just jump in and rearrange her memory….then I risk Sora waking up to find out that nobody remembers him anymore. I can’t do that to him. It’s too late either way. His awakening will have to be delayed.” Namine finally concluded. She smiled ever so lightly._

_“I never imagined Sora’s Nobody and the other one would fight so hard to be their own people. Unfortunately, the only real solution is for them both to go away.” Namine admitted, looking awfully sad about the reality those two had to face. Silence came once again. A sort of awkward silence was emitting from the room but it was soon broken by a small exhale._

_“Did you know her face was blank at first?” Namine suddenly pointed out._

_“Only now can you see someone. That proves some of Sora’s memories are inside her. Some inside her, some inside Sora, and others inside Sora’s Nobody. I can’t sort it out anymore. All I can do is pick up the pieces once what has to be done, is done.” I peeled my hands away from the door, taking slow steps away. I heard enough for one day. I knew what this was leading to...I just...._

_“All right then,”_

_I shook my head, turning away and hastily rushed to the library to try and analyze those books. Try to read the language...or at least find one that's in freaking English._

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

I stared at Riku closely as I tried to make sense of what he was trying to lead me on with. “So, you knew I was listening in on you guys?” Riku smirked lightly at my expression, slouching slightly as he adjusted Xion between his arms. “You really think you're good at being stealthy? Jeez, no wonder Sora became friends with you.”

I didn't know whether if that was an insult or a Riku compliment. I felt my cheeks turn a shade darker. I pouted and hastily crossed my arms against my chest. I looked the opposite direction and huffed defensively. “Hey! I can be an excellent sneaker when I want to be,” My shoulders slumped slightly, “I just seem to never be able to win whenever you're around.”

Riku huffed in amusement while I rolled my eyes. Soon my eyes dropped down to Xion, seeing the uncanny resemblance between her and Kairi. Well, it seems like Sora's memories certainly seeped into her and gave her this form. Xion didn't look exactly like Kairi either. It was like she was her own person. That's when my thoughts wandered off to Namine and the conversation she and Riku had. I can only wonder sometimes...what's to come.

“Scores 18 to 4.” He suddenly acknowledged. I raised a brow, about to ask what he meant. My mouth opened mid-way when I suddenly paused, shutting my mouth closed. I had to let the sentence sit in my head for a few minutes before I realized what he meant. Oh my god. No, he didn’t, did he seriously—

“YOU'VE ACTUALLY KEPT COUNT?!” I demanded in disbelief, my eyes bugging out. Riku smirked and I couldn't help but groan in disbelief. I can't believe this.....nooooo. I smashed my hands against my cheeks, falling over onto my back. He's actually been keeping count against all the times he's caught me.

“You are unbelievable Riku, really, I cannot understand you anymore.” Riku smirked but his attention was distracted when Xion stirred in his arms. Blue eyes finally revealed themselves under closed lids, blinking slowly. Her eyes then looked upwards, blinking slowly.

 “Are you...?” She began but Riku cut her off, nodding his head lightly. “Riku....Sora's friend” He introduced.

Xion's eyes widen as she sat up with Riku's assistance. “Sora, you know Sora?” She asked. I rolled away, sitting up as I shook my head of some sand. Well, that was a bit unexpected. Didn't think it was going to be so casual like this. “Yeah” Riku stood up, holding a hand out for her as she gladly took his hand, being lifted onto her feet. Xion nodded.

“Thank you. You saved me but I don't know why....you did.”

“I guess....I just felt like it” Riku answered. I blinked a few times. Oh...you felt like it. Mysterious as always Riku. Ugh. I had to try and resist slapping my face in annoyance.

“Let's go Michelle,” I was about to ask on why but I felt his hand grip my wrist tightly, pulling me along with him if I had any other choice. We passed by Xion as her eyes widen at the recognition of the name. “Michelle? You're...one of Sora's friends too...right?” Xion asked curiously.

“Yeah....I am.” I answered, dragging my feet against the ground as I tried staying here. This is the first and it may be the last time I may meet Xion in person like this! Who knows!

“Riku, Michelle please...tell me more—About Sora and that girl he's always with.” Xion asked kindly.

I dug my feet into the ground, pulling at Riku's sleeve causing him to look down at me as I shot him a look. I could tell he just wanted to stay till she was good and better then dart out of their in a heartbeat. But I don't think I was going to let him. I'm finally speaking to Xion and damn it, we're gonna talk. “You mean Kairi.” I piped, turning my head towards her direction. Xion nodded slowly, moving her hand to her forehead, brushing her bangs slightly. She tucked her other arm between her armpits. “Kairi. That's right....She's the one who looks so much like me” Xion recalled.

“To Sora, she's someone very special.” I explained, crossing my arms in front of my chest. Kairi...ooooohhhh yeaaaah. She was certainly someone very special to him. If it's not Riku he's talking about, it's Kairi. “It's just, I remember things about the two of them.” Xion began, strolling around in a circle and began walking towards a tree. “But I’m nothing more than a puppet, something that somebody created.” Xion exclaimed.

“So why would I have their memories?” She questioned, resting her hand on the tree as she rested her forehead against the tree. I shared a glance to Riku before putting a hand over my chest. She really didn’t know, oh, this was so sad. I thought Riku had explained it to her before. I guess not. Huh, well, it looks like there's some explaining to do eventually.

“Do you know where Sora is now?” Xion decided to ask.

“That secret stays with me” Riku abruptly cut in. I heard Xion scoff, facing back towards the tree. “Why's that?”

“Xion...” I began. Riku glanced to me...Ugh....it looks like I have to explain. I rubbed the back of my neck, clenching my teeth slightly as I looked nervously at her. “Well, your memories....they really belong to Sora....” I revealed. Xion's eyes widen a bit in shock.

“So you mean, I’m like a part of him?” Xion asked. I nodded solemnly.

“When his memories were scattered, some of them found their way to you. Now, Sora has been put to sleep so we can piece together his memory. Except...” Riku trailed off, looking down at Xion.

“You can't, because part of it is inside of me. That means he can't wake up.” Xion pieced together, holding her fingers to her forehead as she looked down to the ground with shut eyes. Riku towered over her, nodding his head. “Yeah...you got it” I looked to Riku then to Xion, clapping my hands together to try and get this awkward moment over with.

“But, if you come with us to Sora right now, we could give the memories inside you back.” I suggested, coming to Riku's side. Wow, I never knew I was just an inch shorter than Riku. Wooow, I feel proud of myself right now.

“So, do you hate me for taking your friend away?” Xion demanded, pushing her dark bangs away as she turned her attention over to Riku. I gasped silently behind, my eyes widening in disbelief. Xion was secretly just like Larxene!!!!! An evil little—nagh!!

“Nah,” Riku stared at her direction before he shook his head, “I guess...I'm just sad.”

I managed to keep a blank stare but, my god, I felt like my heart just snapped a bit. I sometimes forget...that Riku has emotions like I do. That he feels sorrow and pain even though he keeps up with that cool, mysterious facade he knows so well. Xion's expression turned to one of regret in an instance, looking lamentably to the ground. “I'm sorry, but....I can't go with you two. It's my friends—they need me...and I need them, too.”

“Maybe you should take some time and think about it. Figure out who really needs you more. And where you belong.” Riku suggested. Xion looked down to the ground sadly before looking up to Riku. “How will I know where I belong, truly?” She asked.

I sighed lowly, coming to her other side, resting my hand on her free shoulder causing her attention to be brought towards my direction. “You'll know...you'll feel it right here...” I patted the center of my chest. She looked solemnly at me, looking down at her feet. “I'm not sure I can promise you I’ll come up with the right answer.”

“Well, the answer you come up with can't just be right for you. It has to be one that works best for everybody, you and your friends and everyone else.”

“I'll try,” Xion murmured. “Thank you...Riku,”

Riku was basically gone, walking across the bridge as I was close to follow when I heard Xion come closer, holding a hand out.  “Michelle, wait.” Xion called out.

“Hmm?” I stopped walking, slowly turning to face Xion with a raised brow. Xion looked up at me with those azure orbs, blinking slowly. “Do....are you Flare's.....somebody?”

I raised a brow, completely taken aback by the question. Why...did she want to know about Flare? Why did she assume we were that connected? I blinked a few times, shaking my head. “What...? No, I never became a heartless, besides, we don't exactly look the same. She seems older than I am,” I swallowed quietly, taking a step forward. “Why do you ask?”

“Flare was like me, she didn't have memories when she was first created. Recently though, she's been dealing with the same problem I’ve been having. Memories that aren't quite her own yet they seem so familiar to her, some involved you. I…I wanted to see if I could help her since I know what she's dealing with...” Xion explained. I blinked slowly, taking in a deep breath as I flexed my hands gently. Memories that involved me?

“I don't know Xion. I'm—I never knew Flare when she was a somebody. I don’t know how I would be present in her memories...” I answered carefully. I looked down to the ground. I wonder....what's been going on with her?

“All right....” Xion trailed off, turning around. She held her hand up, a dark portal forming as it swirled and pulsed with darkness. “Riku, Michelle. Be careful....” She offered before walking into the portal.

 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Once Xion had left, it was just Riku and I left on that small little island. For about an hour, we didn't do much but just relax by the palm tree on the little island. The sun was beginning to set and the golden light reflected off the water beautifully. I stared out towards the ocean, my back against the tree stump as I watched the sunset. Riku was by my side, also looking towards the sunset. It was awkwardly silent between us. So much was still needed to be explained. What was going on with Flare that I didn't know of? Why was I being connected to her? What was going to happen?! Was this the strange reason Hoshi had based her appearance off of Flare’s appearance, cause we were the ones actually connected?

“You know, I still wonder how you got a hunch that something was going to happen in Destiny Island...” I asked out of the blue. I turned my head to look at him seeing that his arms were across his chest, the light reflecting off the dark blindfold. “I get lucky like that...”He remarked casually. I rolled my eyes, huffing at the comment.

I just...didn't know anymore. My eyes dropped down to the sandy floor below me as I gently kicked it, drawing distorted shapes in the sand.

“So what's going to happen to her, to Xion I mean?” I questioned quietly. Riku was silent beside me, the waves and the gulls above us being the only sound. It seemed like a few minutes would pass over before I may hear of anything from him. “I guess, in the end, she's going to have to disappear...” He answered indifferently.

I bowed my head, my bangs sliding over my face. You know, at first I didn't really care of who Xion was and I knew I would have to suck it up when it came to Roxas, but now, I didn't know what to do. It didn't seem right. What power or right do I have to be able to say whether or not someone should be allowed to exist. It's the same reason why I can't let Sora, Donald, and Goofy sleep forever. I was going to be torn in two over this, I can only wonder how long it'll be before it happens. The final days are coming up and everything is going to fall in place to the next game. It was completely silent between the two of us, probably letting the eerie realization sink in. Riku stood up, his arms falling to his side as he turned to me.

“Let's call it a day.” He decided. I nodded solemnly, pushing myself off the trunk of the tree. Without another word, we both entered into the dark portal. 


	8. Crossing Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seeeeee, here's the next chapter! Quick and easy~ Enjoy everyone!

Day 295

“What do you think he's doing in there?”

Namine and I stood above the stairways that lead to the secret computer lab down below. I blinked a few times, stunned that I actually would find the door to be...locked. I pressed my ear against it but the low hum of the technology overlapped what I was hoping to hear; the sound of typing. I grumbled, heading back up the stairs as Namine looked at me concerningly, a hand placed over her necklace.

“I don't know,” I answered gruffly as I reached the tops of the steps. I rested my hands into my pockets, huffing out loudly before I took in a deep breath and glanced back to Namine. “But we shouldn't over think about it. Let the man be, at least we're not hearing none of his attitude today...”

Namine frowned lightly, peering past me to look down to the path to the computer lab. Riku stepped beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “She's right, give DiZ some time. In the meantime we can relax and recon throughout Twilight Town for a change.” Riku told her. Namine sighed lowly, dropping her head. “All right.”

I nodded in agreement, crossing my arms as I turned my attention to Riku. “You want to do a team patrol or can you handle it on your own?”

Riku scoffed while shaking his head, “I should be asking you that.”

“Hey!” I snapped in defense. Really, he just keeps making the jokes. Ha-ha, he's turning into a comedian now. I scoffed lowly, crossing my arms as I pouted. Riku shook his head, a small smirk forming on his face. “I'll patrol around town, I'll be able to handle that by myself. You stay here and keep guard of the mansion, see if DiZ ever leaves that room anytime soon.” Riku suggested. I hummed lowly in agreement.

“Sure,” I stuffed my hands into my pocket, leaning back. That sounded easy enough.

“All right then, I should be back later.” Riku turned on his heel, walking away from the two of us and left the room without another word. I glanced over to Namine, seeing she was staring down the path towards the computer lab room before looking back up at me. “I suppose we have another day to ourselves, why don't you take it easy Namine? You've been up for the past couples days...haven't you?” I asked her.

“I have but at this point I have to try harder to help piece his memories back together.” Namine explained, turning her attention towards me. “I don't want to him to wake up with no one being able to remember him,” Her lips trembled slightly, “that would be a terrible fate to place upon him, after all he has done for me too.”

I stared at her for a few minutes before my attention drifted to the side. Sora tends to do that, always helps anyone out and you can't help but love the little lunk. Even if his attitude makes you groan out in disbelief at how naïve he is. He was a good guy, Namine was right, that would be a terrible fate to set up a guy like him with. I scratched my cheek lightly, looking at the shorter female's glowing orbs.

“All right, you do what you need to do. Try not to overdo it, for my sake.” I warned her.

Namine nodded determinedly causing me to exhale lightly before smiling at her lightly. She walked past me and headed out the door leaving me alone in the library. I blinked once, sighing lowly as I turned my head to the side to stare down the steps. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. This is about the third time he has locked himself down there ever since we entered this mansion. Whatever he was doing had to do with Sora and that made me very cautious and paranoid to think what he can be doing with that computer of his. DiZ....what could you be possibly doing?

I blinked slowly before turning away and heading out the door. Well, time to start taking care of this place....I stopped mid-stride of my walk, hearing the grandfather clock downstairs chime, ringing about nine times before stopping. I stared forward, blinking rapidly as I suddenly realized. Oh man, it's only 9 in the morning. Ugh, I could already feel like it was going to be a looooooong day. I sighed irritably and continued forward, knowing that Riku reaaaallllly took the easy way out on this one.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That evening was unusually quiet for sure. DiZ still hasn't left the computer lab and he hasn't spoken to anyone since. I've been spending my day wisely and doing the one thing that I know how to do best. Playing video games.

I sat on the edge of my bed, pressing against keys vigorously, reliving moments that recently happened and some that are soon to come. I know I’m supposed to be guarding the mansion but this place was relatively safe. No one can open the gate and even if they had Roxas with them with that keyblade of his, they won't be able to even find the lock to the gate!  Ha-ha! I am a genius, I don't know how I did it but I did it. My eyes remained focused on the date, seeing the times whirl ahead to 325. At the sight of the dates, I turned my head to the make-shift calendar I made up after I couldn't relay on my phone anymore to tell me what was day it was. To imagine....only three more months. That's about it. Has a year really pass?

Huh, I can't even tell if my birthday had past or not. Maybe it did but being 16 does not feel any different. I feel even older than that. With all of this dark stuff, I just don't know what to expect anymore. Smashing against the A button, I combo'd against heartless after heartless. Roxas was getting strangely...weaker...I noticed. I don't know what's going on or it's just the fact that I keep switching keyblades and forgetting to add those upgrade blocks. Besides that, everything else is going great but I’m wondering if I am ever going to see a cut-scene again. I mean after what happened to Xion, Axel, and Roxas...that was just sad.....

I want to learn some more but it keeps giving me the pointless missions of blah blah blah. I sighed, running a hand through my dark hair. I just needed to know...the stress was beginning to catch up with me again. I was becoming agitated of all that was happening. The anticipation of knowing something will happen but the fear of the unknown is the worse combination in the world. C'mon, give me another cut scene sometime soon. I shut my eyes for a few moments, I heard something as I received the sound that I passed the mission....then....I heard a voice. Followed by another.....extremely familiar voice that sent shivers down my spine once I heard it.

_“I presume you've accomplished your mission Xemnas specifically assigned you to accomplish?”_ A male asked expecting. A female scoffed in annoyance.

_“Of course I did, without a hitch.”_

My eyes snapped open, the names of the owner's voices floating off the tip of my tongue as I recognized those familiar voices. _“Then I presume you realize that you have failed in retrieving ----?”_

There was a halt and a sudden turn by Flare as her eyes narrowed dangerously at the taller male. He didn't flinch what's so ever, it sort of makes you wonder if Saix was a robot or the perfect soldier. I’ll never know...beside the fact that he's a prick.

_“The objective of my mission was to discover the location of the target, find her next whereabouts and to see if she has been having rendezvous with the enemy.”_

Flare and Saix; are they talking about Xion?

I looked down at my D.S finding indeed it was them. Flare stride along Saix's side, her forest green eyes not once flicking away from Saix's emotionless stare. Her hair seemed to be shorter now in the back although her bangs were longer, reaching to her chin.

_“Xalina—what did you discover?”_

_“Xion is –--------------,”_

“What?!”

My eyes widen in disbelief at the scene. What? No, this couldn't be real, this could have not been possible been real. I waited to look at the hooded Nobody, the screen suddenly went dark. My eyes widen in disbelief as I loudly shouted, “Huh?!?!”

Nooooooo, nonononononono! Waiiiiit, don't do this to me now! What was going to happen, what else was going to be said?

I panicked for a moment, setting the D.S on the bed as I attempted for the next ten minutes to try and be able to reset this thing and continue playing. I needed to see what was going to happen, I needed to know! Why the heck were the two talking in the first place!?

My screen was shut off and no matter how many times I tried turning the darn thing on again, it refused. I scratched my head, staring oddly at the D.S. What the heck was wrong with thi—?

My eyes widen when I suddenly heard a high velocity ringing in my ears. I looked around the room, squinting lightly as I tried finding out where the source of the noise was coming from. I winced as the sound grew, getting onto my feet as I looked around. It had to be coming from somewhere, where else could that noise be coming from unless my own ears were beginning to go against me. I shouldn't doubt that after what happened last time with my entire body almost failing on me!

My brain rattled when the high intensity mosquito tone sharpened. I clasped my hands over my ears, falling onto my knees. Everything was becoming a blur in my eyes and I can feel something run along my right hand. I lowered my hand shakily as I examined the liquid only for my eyes to widen. B-blood?!  W-what's go-going on?!?

The sound only increased and my face scrunched in agony. My vision was tunneling and I can feel as my body tipped forward, my eyes rolling to the back of my head and my vision blacked out, the last thing I saw was my D.S flopping closed against the ground beside me.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

??? POV

 -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  

“He—Hey! Wake up, c'mon!” Silence followed for a few moments before sighing in disappointment.  “Hmmm...oooh! I got it! Ha-ha! She's so gonna freak, ahem!”

_“Flare, get up this instant!”_

Emerald eyes shot open as Flare bolted up, her eyes shooting around. Gray walls surrounded her, the side of the couch yet there was no one in the room. She held her breathe, not wanting to let her drowsiness overcome her professionalism. She heard a stiffed laugh, attempting to hold back when her chest deflated, her eyes resuming their blank expression as she turned in her seat, seeing Demyx leaning over the couch to stare down at her before he finally started laughing loudly. Flare blinked once as she suppress a sigh, sitting up and crossing her arms across her chest as Demyx leaned against the couch, hitting his fist against the arm chair, trying to calm himself down from the laughing fit he was exposed to.

“HAHAHA! TH-THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE! YOU REALLY THOUGHT SAIX WAS HERE!” Demyx cackled loudly, wiping a tear from his eye.

Flare blinked unresponsively as she stared at the blonde Nobody.

“Demyx, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?” She demanded. Demyx smirked, swinging himself over and plopped right next to her on the couch. She adjust herself, swinging her legs to settle her boots onto the tiled floor below.

“Finished already!” Demyx bashfully responded.

Flare stared at Demyx as the Nobody banished his sitar and began strumming its cords. He whistled lowly but his eyes began to drift back to her as the whistled died in his mouth and he stopped strumming. “What?” He asked accusingly.

“You actually finished a mission early?” Flare repeated blankly.

Demyx smiled, nodding once but Flare shook her head, pointing a finger to his jaw. “Excuse me, I mean, you actually finished a mission?” Flare demanded causing Demyx to lean back against the arm chair, looking at her in a hurtful manner but he eventually smirked, strumming the cords of the sitar once again.

“Yup! Roxas and I handled the place easily~!” Demyx cooed with pride, playing the cords in a melody that resembled a cool rock of the sort.

Well, that's what she assumed. She never really pressed attention to music so she really didn't know. But she knew one thing for sure, Demyx never played when he would return from a mission that he actually had to do work. He would be complaining most of the time before a few hours later when he actually has the strength to play that thing. Flare sighed lowly, resting her gloved hands on her knees, turning her attention away from Demyx and looked forward.

“You made Roxas do all the work, didn't you?” She questioned accusingly.

“Yup” Demyx piped proudly.

He didn't even hesitate on answering that. Demyx realized that everyone knew he was lazy on missions. Only those like Xaldin, Zexion, Saix, and Larxene could make him do work on missions. Now with two of those members now terminated, he's been a bit more carefree in order to do what he deemed fit....except without raising suspicion from Xemnas who would turn him into a dusk in an instant. This nobody...how is it that they are even acquaintances, let alone even friends. Flare inhaled, rubbing her temples as she shut her eyes. “You really...are the laziest being I have ever met. You are truly unbelievable” She remarked. Demyx shrugged, crossing his arms in defense as he turned his head to her.

“What? It's done, no big deal, the kid anyways seemed to be in a rush to get to somewhere so he basically finished the mission by himself” Demyx responded reasonably.

Flare raised her head up, raising a brow. Roxas finishing a mission willingly like that, maybe it was because he learned from a previous encounter that the nobody was a good talker and able to make his way out of some very hard work. Or that he was a better fighter than the coward that Demyx acts like sometimes.

Flare raised a brow, “Odd, why would he do such a thing?”

“Don't you know by now, Flare? He, Axel, and Xion all meet up at that Clock Tower in Twilight Town to have some of that local ice-cream which I gotta admit is freaking off the hook!” He strummed cords rapidly, a light airy feeling bursting through. Flare stared at Demyx, blinking rapidly. She knew about that, of course she did.

“Number XIV is still missing though, correct?” Flare asked. Demyx stared at her with a raised brow, a deadpanned expression lingering on his face. “She has a name you know, but from what I hear, yeah. No one really has seen her.”

Flare's eyes dropped to the ground before picking back up, hearing the sound of heavy footsteps heading towards their direction. Demyx's playing grew lower, his hazel eyes drifting off to the same direction she was looking at only to pale lightly. In a stride, golden eyes narrowed at the sight of Flare and Demyx, stopping a few feet away was Saix. Flare's eyes narrowed as Saix tilted his head up to meet her gaze.

“Flare, a word.” Saix requested in an un-suggesting tone.

Flare stood up without objecting, striding past him as Saix's narrowed eyes gazed to Demyx before turning on his heel and following after the shorter woman. Flare entered into the hallway, the staircases to the large castle spiraling downwards and around, interconnecting with several places of the facility. Most led to exterior parts of the castle which could lead to so upper levels of the castle but it really only served as a purpose where members could walk and perhaps behold the wonder that is Kingdom Hearts, almost complete.

“You wish to know how the mission in Castle Oblivion went?” Flare asked without a hitch. Saix curtly nodded, stopping by her side as she turned swiftly.

“I presume you've accomplished your mission Xemnas specifically assigned you to accomplish?” He asked expecting.

“Of course I did, without a hitch.”

“Then I presume you realize that you have failed in retrieving her?” Saix noted. Flare's emerald eyes turned to slits, her arms crossing over her chest.

“The objective of my mission was to discover the location of the target, find her next whereabouts and to see if she has been having rendezvous with the enemy.” Flare defended reasonably.

“Xalina—what did you discover?” Saix demanded. Flare's eyes narrowed dangerously.

That name, infuriating name. Saix was one of only three, now two due to Vexen's timely demise that knew and called her by her given name. It just held so much that she didn't know and rather scrape it all together. She doesn't care who she was in the past, all that mattered was who she was today. Flare's fingers gripped her hips tightly as she turned to Saix.

“I decoded more of Vexen's research notes during his time at Castle Oblivion, it seems he was working on more than one project during his time there, one including the No.I project. It surprises me that I didn't notice half of them while I worked as his 'assistance' in the castle” Flare explained. Saix's brows furrowed together, raising a brow at the sudden change of conversation.

“Were there any intruders in the castle?”

“One,” Flare answered.

“Who?”

“Number XIV herself. It seems she managed to find the building in search of answers on who or what she really is.” Flare explained.

“By the time I reached the castle, she was long gone and the traces of a dark portal being summoned amongst the grounds of the castle were almost undetectable. I didn't get a clear distinguish of where she may be heading but I will work on that later.” Flare crossed her arms across her chest, leaning back slightly.

“Besides that, the building hadn't been accessed since Axel and Roxas's previous attempt mission to the facility. The Organization has a tight grip on that castle, I'm positive that no one would dare be foolish enough to reenter that building.”

“Someone as foolish as the puppet was able to get in there, then it's possible that one of those idiots that are trying to ruin our plan can get in the castle” Saix's stare never faltered as he crossed his arms roughly across his chest. “The knowledge that Number XIV possess now is a great risk for whatever Xemnas has in store.”

“I know,” Flare replied, her voice lowering. Her eyes darted around before taking a step forward. “That's why I'm going to confront her.”

Saix's eyes narrowed dangerously at the idea. Flare stood erect, pushing her bangs behind her ears and stared seriously at the taller Nobody. “Are you going to be confronting her and bringing her back?” Saix asked, his voice dropping quietly as well. Flare scoffed, smirking at the idea. “No, you know I wouldn't be able to handle a mission such as a confront and retrieve mission. No, I will personally find her and I will send word back to the castle. Once I do, then you'll be able to send Axel to finish the job.” Saix looked thoughtfully to the floor, a faint hum emitting from him till he glanced right back up to her.

“I hope you realize that you're taking a risk with confronting her”

“I know but I assure you, I'll pull it off flawlessly.” Flare reassured the blue haired Nobody. Saix stared at her with those gold eyes, blinking slowly. “All right, I’ll inform Xemnas of the plan,” Flare began to slowly walk pass him, deciding to head off to start her unofficial mission. But before she could get far, she heard Saix's voice.

“The other information I asked you of?” Saix demanded suddenly. Flare froze in her steps, her fist clenched as she turned her head back to him.

“Nothing, not a trace of information is in that forsaken castle. Whatever you're looking for in that building is not there. If it was, it has been long erased from the memory files of the computers.”

“Fine then, you're dismissed.”

Saix's eyes narrowed while Flare turned her head and continued walking away from the taller man. Her fist shook violently as she clenched her teeth, a sense of rage crawling up the back of her spine. The nerve of that man, if he wasn't Xemnas's right hand she swore she would've disposed of him the second the chance was available. Whatever he was looking for, she didn't even know.  Flare finally reached the bottom of the steps, entering into a hallway that led to the grounds of the castle outside. She was almost there too until—

“Ayyyyyyyyyyyyeeee, if it isn't the Flare-mister,”

Flare stopped in her tracks, sighing irritably as she glanced upwards, finding Xigbar upside down on the ceiling. He flicked a two-finger salute to the young girl before flipping to the ground in front of her. She blinked once, casually folding her arms against her chest as her foot began to tap against the tiled floor expectantly. What could this fool want with her this time? Hasn't he bothered her enough for a lifetime? Perhaps even enough to share with others.

“Why are you here Xigbar? You do realize I’m in a rush?” Flare pointed out, her teeth clenched together. “You do realize I’m in a rush—pssh, as if!” Xigbar mimicked before grinning mischievously at her. “Look Flare, I _know_ you know where the chick is.”

Flare's jaw set as she straightened up, “I don't know what you're referring to.”

“The poppet of course! You know exactly where she is—” Flare's eyes narrowed in annoyance as Xigbar paused, a glint in his eyes. “Or...more of _where_ she'll be heading _next”_

_“_ Xigbar, I already have enough of your foolish talks, I don't know where Number XIV is or is going to be, if I did then Saix would've already have sent either Axel or I to make sure she is retrieved.” Flare explained sharply. Xigbar chuckled in amusement, holding his hands up in defense.

“Whoa, didn't mean to ruffle you all up. I was just wondering since that conversation that you had with Saix back there seemed _pretty_ suspicious.” Flare's eyes widen by a fraction as her postured straightened, her head tilting downwards slightly as her eyes met his. “You _wall bug_ , you were listening in on that conversation?”

Xigbar crossed his arms behind his neck. “I don't kiss and tell,” He replied amusingly. Flare glared before regaining her composure. “Well then, why come to me when you heard all that there is to it? I didn't find her whereabouts, that mission was a complete failure. ” Flare noted. Xigbar smirked, crossing his arms across his chest as he raised a brow.

“Oh? So why does it seem to me that you're about to head off somewhere?”

Flare's shoulders tensed, her brows furrowing together as she glared at Xigbar. It looks like he didn't hear part of the conversation. That was good, some kind of information she could keep away from him. “I am trying to head away from _all of you._ Now if you excuse me, I'm leaving the castle grounds to ask Axel of something.”

Xigbar snorted, crossing his arms across his chest as he laughed crudely. “Nice, head over to the hot-shot himself, that certainly won't get you more flared up then you already are”

Flare could feel the back of her neck grow hot as she spun on her heel only to find Xigbar gone and the remnants of a dark portal in his wake. Flare stared at where he once was, watching as the portal disappeared completely from sight. Flare scoffed lowly, feeling her cheeks flush brightly in anger. Second member she despised, although Saix was more of an annoyance, Xigbar, ugh, it seemed like he always had something to say or that he knew something you didn't. Flare blinked a few times in annoyance. Those infernal men. She huffed faintly, turning on her heel and continued making her way across the castle. She finally reached a secluded part of the castle, cautiously scanning the area to make sure that no one was watching or was suddenly going to appear. Once she deemed it to be abandon, she held a hand out, a dark portal morphing upwards from the ground.

Looking around once more, she finally stepped into the portal and entered the Betwixt and Between.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**FFW:**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Stepping out of the swirling corridor of darkness, she found herself walking amongst a brick floor that caused her to look around, blinking a few times. Her eyes casted upwards to the see the orange-tinted sky that she seen a few times already. “Twilight Town?” She noted out loud. So it seems Xion is in Twilight Town, well that at least made it easier for her to inform Axel of the news. That also made her question something. If Xion was in Twilight Town, did Axel already see her?

No, Xion's smarter than letting herself get caught like that. She knows the Organization is after her, she wouldn't willing want to see Axel at the current moment...after all...she knows all too well by now that Axel does any kind of missions. Flare rubbed her head lightly before looking upwards to see the Clock Tower was in sights. She scrutinized the top of the Clock Tower and she could see two dark fingers. Perfect, they were still here. Flare held out her hand, another dark portal forming at the tips of her fingers as she looked back to the Clock Tower.

“All right, let's do a quick change in scenery.”

Flare turned to face the portal, peering into the darkness till she saw a glimmer of light reflecting from the other side. She took a step back before hurling herself through the dark portal, feeling an incredible rush till she passed through the light and found herself landing amongst the slanted tile of the Clock Tower. She clenched her teeth, slamming her heel into the roof and threw her arm out, passing it through the dissembling dark portal and caught hold of one of the few tips that resided along the flat top of the clock tower. Flare held her grip on the tip, glancing downwards to see exactly how high she was from the ground below. Her lips quirked to the side, raising a brow. Now...where was Axel and Roxas?

Flare glanced down the slanted tilted roof then looked to the side to where the large bell of the Clock tower was. She blinked once before maneuvering her way to the side and then began sliding down the tilted roof. She landed on a flat surface and swung down, hanging herself as she climbed down the piece of metal till the slanted tile was beneath her and she let go and began sliding down it again. Finally she reached the flat area in which Roxas and Axel normally sit at. She fell gracefully on the ground, sighing lightly as she leaned against the wall, peering over the edge to see Axel and Roxas were both standing. Roxas had his hand out and a dark portal emerged. Roxas was about to head in along with Axel but Axel suddenly stopped, turning his head slightly causing Flare to press against the wall.

“You coming Axel?” Roxas asked.

“Uh, why don't you go on ahead, I just remembered I have to finish something up.” Axel lied. Perfect. Flare smirked gently.

“Oh…okay, see you later!” A few seconds later, Flare could hear the dissembling of the portal and an annoyed sigh came a few seconds later. “Flare, what do you want?” Axel demanded. Flare appeared from behind the corner, staring at Axel blankly as he turned to face her, his stare riveting in annoyance.

“I got an assignment recently,” Flare told him. “Let me guess, it involves Xion?” Axel guessed. Flare slowly nodded as she turned to Axel. “Unfortunately it does and you're involved as well...” Axel blinked once, crossing his arms across his chest. “Why didn't I expect that to happen….so what? Xion's gone, we've all been looking for her—”

“I think I managed to locate her.” Flare interrupted. Axel's eyes widen and he stood erect. “What—then, then where is she?”

“She's in Twilight Town I believe. I manage to get a sample of the dark corridor she opened when she was last in Castle Oblivion.” Flare explained.

Axel's eyes widen in disbelief as he turned to face the town down below. Her eyes drifted to Axel momentarily. Her curiosity piped for a millisecond, recalling she hadn't simply found Xion's but also his. She didn't want to tell Saix that Axel was still one of the members that she would associate herself with beside Demyx. Even if the nobody infuriated her to no end sometimes. He was still her friend and she still had some honor to that, she wasn't going to slip him out like that.

“So...where do I fit in all of this?” Axel suddenly asked, his head turning towards her. Flare's eyes narrowed. “I was tasked with finding her and I plan on confronting her...but...I can't bring her back.” Axel blinked once, his eyes glancing downwards as his face turned expressionless. “So, I guess I have to do the dirty work”

“Unfortunately.” The Clocktower chimed loudly, ringing six times indicating the time that it was now six. “It is getting late, you did promise you would catch up with Roxas now—” Flare paused, hearing a faint, murmurish voice in the back of her mind.

_“Michelle, you gotta wake up.”_

“What?” Flare murmured, her eyes casting around. Oh not this again. She was hearing _her_ name again. What was up with this girl, how is she connected with her. Ever since meeting her in Castle Oblivion, something has been bothering her. The last time they chatted in Halloween Town...she remember getting a memory. A memory with someone who resembled her she might've looked as a child. But...she could feel there was a difference. She could feel it. Flare put a hand to her head, blinking slowly.

“Yeah, I suppose I did—hey, Flare, you okay?”

_“Give her a few minutes, I think she'll come through.”_ Suddenly Flare felt a sharp feeling in her mind causing her to lean against the side of the tower causing Axel's eyes to widen. What...was going on?!

“This never happened before, not like this—” Suddenly Flare felt her knees buckle forward as she hit the ground, her eyes rolling noticing Axel's eyes widen as he began to kneel down to her, shaking her shoulders.

“Xalina!”

Her vision just failed on her and she simply let the unconsciousness take her.

_“So....how does the darkness feel, kid?”_

_-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-_

Resuming Normal POV

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Huh!” I shot up, my eyes snapping open as I gasped loudly, suddenly feeling out of breathe. I hunched forward, sucking in deep breathes as I tried to feel oxygen come back to my system.

 “Hey, are you all right?” I didn't have a chance to response, coughing hoarsely into my arm. I felt a hand brush against my hair and patted soothingly against my back. W-was that all a dream or was that actually real?

I finally was able to catch my breath, regaining my normal senses as I sat up. Riku stared down at me, sitting beside me while I turned to him, somewhat bewildered by his presence.

“Riku? What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“Making sure you were okay, Namine found you unconscious on the ground earlier” He answered indifferently.  I blinked, taken aback by the news. “How long was I out?”

“About a day.”

My jaw dropped at the sudden news. It was that long?! I stared in disbelief, holding a hand to my head. Riku looked at me as I got up, walking to the window. It was around dusk by now, ending at the same time the dream had ended. What...what had happened?

“Are you okay?”

“Michelle!” I was out of the room by the time he shouted. My steps were steady, stomping lightly against the ground as I hurried down the steps. Why was my mind whirling, like questions needed to be answered and the only way I was going to get them answered was if I went outside. I rushed down the steps, leaping to the bottom before hurrying over to the doorway. I forced the doors open, rushing outside as my head shot to the side, looking off towards the Clock Tower, hearing the loud chiming of the new hour dawning. It was 6. The same time that Flare got here.

“This is too freaky, even for something like this!” I murmured. I turned forward, I wonder—

“Michelle!” I suddenly felt a hand grip onto my wrist, whirling me around as I came to face Riku staring down at me, his blindfolds unable to keep away the burning stare, I could just sense that feeling. “What is the matter?! You just ran like someone was after you!” Riku chided. I swallowed roughly, shaking my head. This was just becoming weird, but that means it must've been true. It had to be.

“Xion, she's here in Twilight Town, I think she may be coming—” I suddenly stopped, feeling the ominous pressure of a dark portal about to open. Mere seconds later, it formed right at the edge of the forest causing Riku and I to stare cautiously. A figure stepped out of the darkness and the portal collapsed behind. I stared at the figure till my eyes widen and I straightened up.

“Xion?” I asked.


	9. Paper Planes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, this took forever to get out. I moved recently across the country so hence the major delay in this story. I hope to get it out at least every three weeks or two weeks if i'm doing really well. But if anything, I hope you all enjoy reading it. Be sure to click on the first in the series if you're new to reading this. I really appreciate it. Thanks and have a good day~

Day 291

“Xion?”

I stared in disbelief as the hooded figure pulled down the hood and revealed their presence to be Xion. Her short hair stuck to her head as she stared at her with those blank, azure eyes. I stared at her for a good minute before turning to Riku, seeing his lips had parted slightly and just by that I could tell he was a little shock by the sudden arrival. Okay, its official, I am extremely weirded out by all that happened.

Did I really see through Flare's eyes? What the heck had happened?!?

I hope for my sakes it doesn't happen again. I scratched my head momentarily before I glanced to Riku once more, raising a brow. He looked down at me before focusing his attention onto Xion. Riku took a step forward, his arms across his chest as he tilted his head up.

 “You've made your decision?” Riku demanded. Xion shook her head, looking up at the two of us solemnly.

“No, not yet…but I want to talk,” She answered. I blinked a few times, staring at Xion with a raised brow.

“Talk about what?” I asked. Xion ran a hand through her hair, her eyes glimmering slightly causing my eyes to widen. “I need—I want to know exactly who I am. Why I was created, no one has been able to give me those answers,” She trailed of, her eyes casted off to the side before she looked back up to meet our own, “Except you two.”

I stared at her, my eyes darting back to Riku who simply stared at her. “Why do you need our help? Haven't you already gotten a certain idea by now?” Riku demanded. Xion nodded once again, her arms tucking into her petite body.

“I know I am nothing more than a puppet, I really have a blank face but apparently these memories I have been getting lets me have one...one for my own that mostly everyone can see. But...to some others like Saix and Xigbar, they see me as someone completely different.”

“Okay, that's kind of vague. All we told you was that you are connected with Sora and if you help us, we can try to fix your memories and everything.” I recalled. On that note, Xion really didn't know she was still. It was kind of sad. How long was it going to take before she could finally find out who she was. If that were to happen what would happen to Xion?

“Yes, but there's something else...I know it” Xion responded. “That's why I came to you two...to see if you can help me again”

I stared at Xion unsurely, rubbing the back of my neck as I hummed lowly. Could we even help her at this point. Riku sighed, resting his hands on his hips as his head tilted towards the direction of the Clock-tower before looking down at me. “All right...we'll help you.” My eyes widen, jumping slightly as I turned my head over my shoulder to look at Riku. “We will?” I whispered questionably. Riku looked at me, nodding.

“We'll assist you as much as possible...but in the meantime...” Riku stepped forward again, crossing his arms. “You need to help us in exchange for our services to helping you” Riku told her. Xion's eyes widen by a fraction as did mine, taking a step forward, I turned to look at Riku again. “What the heck are you doing—?”

Riku slammed his hand over my mouth, instantly shutting me up. That was rude. I stared at him incredulously, almost too shocked to slap his hand away since...he has NEVER done that. I didn't even think it was possible for him to do that. I grumbled angrily, finally gripping his wrist and pulling his gloved hand away from my mouth, shooting him an annoyed glare before I took a few steps backwards. I blinked a few times, taken aback by the sudden vibration in my pocket. Wait, I thought the phone was dead. My eyes drifted down, seeing the light shine from the dark pocket. I tilted my head, slowly drifting my hand to my pocket. I quickly turned my head to Riku and Xion, seeing they were both eyeing me from the corner of their eyes. I guess the vibration was a little loud. I smiled sheepishly, turning around as I began walking backwards.

“Uh, excuse me for a moment.” I quickly grabbed the phone and hurried my way towards the inside of the mansion, still feeling the phone vibrate against my gloved hand. I walked through the open doors of the mansion, turning to lean against the wall. Once I could say for sure I was alone I flipped the phone open, answering the call button and held it to my ear.

“Michelle.” My eyes widen as I stood erect, the owner of the voice completely catching me off guard. “DiZ? Why are you calling me on my cellphone? More importantly, how is this cell phone working?” I demanded, my other hand gripping my hip tightly. “I know for sure my cell phone was completely going haywire and it wouldn't even accept the charge anymore at this point.” 

“I had made some modifications to your cellular device when you had left it one day.” DiZ answered calmly as if it was the simplest explanation in the world. I felt my left eye twitch and I struggled not to let noises grumble.

_'Modifications?!'_ Pulling my hand down to eye level, I examined the phone carefully. Nothing seemed to have change, what the heck could he have possibly done to change it. I suppressed an annoyed sigh, returning the phone back to my ear. “Okay, what else have you been doing without telling me?” I decided to ask, “DiZ, we haven't seen you in days! I'm starting to worry that you really did lock yourself in there for good! What are you doing anyways?”

“That question will soon be answered but at a later time. Michelle, I need to you to relay a mission for me to Riku,”

I blinked, taken aback by that. A mission specifically for Riku. My annoyance raced momentarily and I just wanted to stop talking with DiZ. I shook my head, about to agree when I turned to look out the door, seeing Riku and Xion talking. My eyes widen, the words getting caught up in my throat and I could only make a sound.

“Michelle? Did you hear what I said?”

No, I wouldn't be able to help Xion in what she needed. That sounded like a job for Riku. Riku was always good at retrieving information, or more to the fact that I would feel slightly uncomfortable around Xion. I didn't know why, I noticed it the last time but I didn't want to believe it. Something about her makes me feel like she wasn't supposed to exist. Like really never meant to exist even as an idea, yet here she was. I didn't want to think about it really but it made me wonder about her...and how she was going to turn out later. In all the other games of Kingdom Hearts, there was no mention of her anywhere. Why is that?

Whatever happens in this game....?

“Michelle!” I jumped at DiZ's sudden bark, my head shooting around in all the directions till I realized it was coming from the phone. I gripped the phone tightly, bringing it back to my ear.

“No,” I answered suddenly. The other line became suddenly quiet as I could hear the faint buzz of the technology whirling in the computer lab. “No?” DiZ repeated, almost questionably at my answer. “Now why would you say no to such a simple request?”

“I said no because if it was such a simple request, you would tell me.” I answered back. I paused momentarily, waiting to see if he would say anything else but I heard nothing so I continued on. “I'll take the mission, whatever you have in mind I can do just as well as Riku” I retorted, holding the phone tightly.

I breathed in and out heavily, feeling my cheeks burn somewhat. Hopefully it would work. Hopefully I sounded convincing enough and not sound suspicious whatsoever. I could hear DiZ hum on the other side as I awaited in anticipation, my eyes darting back from the little square tile on the floor to Riku and Xion.

“All right, since you seem so eager to take the mission at task, I'll allow it. I'll inform Namine to provide you with transportation and back.”

I held in the sigh of relief as I turned my body to face the other two. I'll tell Riku about it once I’m done. I'm sure he'll understand....hopefully he'll understand. Xion's going to need all the help she can get and the best protection she can get and Riku is the best for the job. I breathed in lightly, tilting my head slightly to look over my shoulder towards the stair case.

“Okay, so what's the mission?”

**===FFW===**

It's always in Neverland, regardless of what the fates have in mind, it's always Neverland.

I stepped out of the darkness the dark portal closed behind me as I flipped my hood down to get a better view. I was on one of the few random slabs of ground that connected with the seafloor below. The ocean wasn't so far down from where I was standing. I could totally do a dive without having to worry about dying.  Though I’m not doing that anytime soon. I hummed lowly, pacing around to stare at the surrounding area.

The Skull Island was actually close by here, a good swimming distance but it was reasonable. I leaped down from the taller boulder I was on and onto another one that was directed below it. I paced around, finding that nothing was really here. No heartless and certainly no Nobodies or any Organization members.  I clicked my tongue, finding the quiet to be suspicious. I scanned the area a few times, trying to see what the big deal was with DiZ trying to send Riku here instead of me. I mean there's nothing here but that alone should bring concern to me.

I ran a hand through my hair, sighing, thinking back to the mission details.

_“Your mission is to head to Neverland and finish off this major heartless. I'm warning you, it's a very powerful heartless. Proceed with caution. Do not engage with any potential enemie_ s,”

“What else can I do when there seems to be nothing to do?” I muttered. My eyes scanned around the freaking barren landscape, seeing a few birds flying around. I scratched my head, sighing in annoyance. I continued walking along the rocky pathway, my eyes scattering around as I saw other boulder formations. They seemed to be a bit far away from each other meaning you would probably need to know how to fly to be able to get on each one of those things. I tilted my head and looked upwards to the clear sky above and smiled lightly at the sight. Might as well start flying around, right?

I'll probably get a better chance in finding the heartless I’m supposed to be looking for and or just finding some heartless in general.  Just in case, I pulled my hood over my head, tucking my hair into the hood. I took a steady pace back, closing my eyes gently.

_'I believe'_

My feet began touching off the ground and I grinned ecstatically when I looked around when something suddenly caught my attention. Those birds….were moving very oddly at the moment. It wasn't graceful dives like what most birds do but aggressive, as if they were trying to catch something. My eyes narrowed, focusing directly on one specific bird to try and see what the heck kind of bird it was. Maybe it was the sort of species that did something like that.

As I finally caught up to one, my eyes widen when I saw that they weren’t birds…they were heartless. I felt my feet touch back onto the ground as I casted a hand over my eyes, leaning my body forward to get a better view. Those winged, annoying creatures were swooping around rapidly as if they were trying to get something. Those Flying Bandits were just going at it, nearly colliding with each other and the others flying swiftly past them, trying to get their hands on something.

“Wait.” I took a few steps forward, my eyes narrowing. I notice a small sparkle flickering around, rapidly moving around. No. That couldn’t….could it??

I took a few steps forward, stepping on the edge of the rock formation.

“TINKERBELL!” I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth to create an echo. The light suddenly stopped moving around and my eyes widen in alarm. It was her! Oh god, what is she doing out there!?!?

Tinkerbell suddenly began moving again, the heartless desperately trying to get her as she maneuver out the way. I gasped loudly, looking behind me as I began taking several steps backwards before finally taking a full on sprint and leapt off the rock. The air whirled around me as I descended down but finally the flight kicked in and I was soaring through the air. I swung my arm out, my keyblade coming to hand as I headed straight towards the heartless, seeing the five begin to corner the poor fairy between them, and leaving no real possible escape routes for her to take. All five then flew forward, hands extended out. But suddenly Tinkerbell dove down and all five crashed into each other. I waved my arm quickly, feeling the electricity beginning to build up.

“Thunder!” The electricity shot down from the sky above, hitting nearly all the heartless in one giant jolt. Three of the heartless were taken out just from that while two remained twitching violently in the air. They shook out of the static and began moving rapidly in the air, there arms swiping around as they focused their attention back on Tinkerbell. I reeled back my arm then threw forward, watching as the keyblade hurled in the air, whirling until it slashed at both heartless, taking them out instantly. The keyblade boomeranged back and I caught it with ease, grinning as I shot my other arm up in victory.

“All right!” I cheered. I swung around, looking around for a little ball of light that was Tinkerbell. As I spun around in the air, I didn't catch her....where...could've she been?

“Tinkerbell?” I called out, my eyes flickering around in a panic. Oh no, did the heartless actually get her while I didn't notice?! I was basically ready to flip a shit when I saw her. The light was dimmed and she was beginning to drop in the air causing my eyes to widen when she suddenly dropped, free-falling down to the ocean below. I gasped loudly but before I could even really flip out, I dove down.

At this point, I basically ditched the flight ability because that only slowed me down instead I allowed gravity to do its work. She was about to hit the water, about a good five feet above the water when I caught her, flipping onto my back as I held tightly to shield Tinkerbell as I hit the water, tossing Tinkerbell slightly up to avoid getting her seriously wet. I dove into the water, going under a good 3 feet before I finally tilted my body and looked up towards the surface and began swimming upwards. Finally I broke the surface, taking a deep breath and looked upwards, seeing Tinkerbell falling right back down to me.

“I got you!” I caught Tinkerbell, the water splashing against my cheek as the waves pushed past me. Tinkerbell sat up in my hands, her wings and outfit soaked as her hair was plastered against her face.

“You okay?” I asked.

She shook her head, her once brilliant light now had dimmed down to almost a light glow. I guess she really was tuckered out. I hummed lowly, turning my head to see the Skull Island was the only thing close enough for me to be able to get out and swim out. Especially with Tinkerbell all wet like this, we needed to get out of the water. I have to get out of here, I need to get to some sort of land. I frowned lightly, turning my head to see the Skull Island....being one of my only options at the moment. I sunk into the water, blowing angrily into the water causing the bubbles to pop against my nose. “All righty then,”

I placed Tinkerbell into the inside of my hood and I could feel her gripping onto the roots I kicked heavily, my arms swinging above my head as the sleeves proved to be somewhat of a resistance. Damn, I wish I can take this freaking coat off right now but it's pretty much glued to my wet body right now. My hair was plastered against my face as I flipped the hood off, trying to see more clearly on exactly where I was going. Now this was going to be bothering me for the next ten minutes as I swim. Why the heck didn't I fly out of here?

Ugh...just ignore details...ignore them.

“Tick...tock...tick...tock”

I blinked once in the water, hearing what sounded to be....a clock ticking?

My eyes widen, a bubble of air forming out of my mouth as I noticed something swim way underneath me. I whipped my head out of the water and suddenly began to swim faster than ever now. Oh Jiminy Cricket! Why didn't I remember there was a predator like that in these waters!

SWIM LIKE THAT GUY FROM THE BEIJING GAMES! Oh god!!!

I held my hand up, my keyblade appearing as I slammed it against the water. “Aeroga!” A breeze began to form around me, the water surrounding began to part as I was suddenly hurled up into the air. My eyes widen when I heard a loud chomp and I spun in the air, seeing exactly what I feared was after me.

“Oh god! The ticking crocodile!  Why don't you go after someone else like the codfish?!” I shouted, seeing the crocodile staring up at me, its mouth wide open. The wind holding me up suddenly began to break apart and I was suddenly dropping a few inches closer back to the water. “Oh no, I’m not about to become seafood!” I pointed my keyblade downwards.

“Deep freeze!” The ice spell shot from the tip, hitting the water and created an icy floor. The crocodile was also given a nice frozen new look, eyes blinking as I landed on the slippery ground, sliding till I dug my feet into the ground, spinning around to catch a look at the crocodile. Its eyes darted towards me and although it was completely frozen solid, I could still see it was glaring at me. I grinned and turned, trying to hustle because I knew the spell wasn't going to last for that much longer. Maybe two minutes was the best I had before the ice melted and that croc was going to be after me again. I slipped and slide a bit as I raced against the clock, finding the island was becoming closer in reach.

“I making it!” I realized in glee but I gasped loudly when I felt my foot momentarily break through the ice but I pulled out in time and continued sprinting. It was only a matter of seconds now!

The icy floor began melting at my feet and the next step I took, I was in waist deep of water. I groaned, shaking my head but I began to wade myself through the water. I was basically there, the island was a few more feet away. I stumbled forward, the waves crashing into my back but as the water began to lower down to my knees I turned around, hearing the clicking sound was resuming again and I could see the ripples in the water indicating that the crocodile was coming back for me. I twitched, sprinting as this point as I finally began stumbling against the sandy shore, the waves still hitting my feet and ankles.

“Oh jeez! Oh jeeeeeeezz!”

I finally reached solid ground and I sprinted upwards towards the rocky side of the skull formation, instantly grabbing hold of a ledge and shimmed my way up until I pulled myself up. I rested on my stomach for a second, taking in the moment to get a few breathes before I decided to inch over to the edge and peered down. I grinned instantly.

“HA!” I pointed at the crocodile, laughing in victory. “Not today you old croc!” I curled my legs against my chest as I peered down at the croc who glared at the sight of me, his long tongue slipping from his mouth to lick his teeth. I waved a hand at it, my lips curled.

“Go on then, find some other thing to bite down on. You know what??” I leaned against the rock, my hand gripping onto a hook like rock as I held it up to view and swayed it side to side, seeing the crocodile's eyes were following the rock.  “I suggest finding your favorite little codfish, I’m sure you'll get him once again. He's always nearby” 

At the sound of codfish, the crocodile licked its mouth and nodded vigorously. It paced backwards into the water and once again began swimming away. I peered over the edge once again, watching as the crocodile disappeared into the water and waited for a few minutes to make sure it was not going to come back. I sighed in relief, bending my head as I rested it against the wall behind me. Oh god, that was close. Okay, maybe going to Neverland today wasn't the greatest choice I have ever made. I took in a few breathes before leaning my legs over the edge and rested my arms on them.

“Okay, we’re safe” I acknowledged, glancing over my shoulder. Tinkerbell crawled out from the hood, sticking her head out blinking wildly. Well, couldn't blame her. That was a little crazy of a journey we had back there.

“You're okay?” I asked. Tinkerbell shook her head, water shaking off her hair. I smiled lightly, shaking my head before looking around.

“SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!” My head shot up, blinking rapidly as I looked upon to the slope of rocks and decided to climb up to see what the commotion was about. Once I reached the top of the boulder, I scanned around till I found a familiar captain dressed in red, clinging onto his second in command while pointing downwards to the ocean below from the top of his ship.

“There it be! The crocodile! It'd be looking for my other hand!” Hook shouted in a panic, pointing his hook hand down towards the crocodile. I snickered softly, seeing that the crocodile followed my advice after all. Hehehehehe. The crocodile licked its teeth, the ticking noise ringing loudly causing Hook to screech in fear and he leaped away from Smee, hiding behind his chair as he looked up shakily from behind it.

“Now there, shoo, scram off you big ol' croc!” Smee shushed at the crocodile while it looked distastefully at the older man, flicking its head in the other direction before slowly merging back into the water, the bubbles emitting away with a tick, tick tick. “I-Is it gone Smee???” Hook asked concerningly, shaking like a leaf behind the chair. Smee peered over the edge one more time before giving a confirmed nod.

“Aye Captain, he's gone.” Hook then came back with a swing, standing furiously up as he growled loudly. “Now where is that blasted fairy? Did the heartless get her?”

“No captain, I think she got away.” Smee replied. Captain Hook growled loudly in annoyance.

“Curses! Once I find her, I’ll be able to lure that Peter Pan to hand over me treasure back and I could get rid of him once and for all” Hook promised roughly. A screech suddenly emerged causing me to look around in wonder before I focused back on the ship seeing Hook and Smee look up in the air and scan around. I wonder what the heck that was.

“Did you hear that?” Hook questioned. “Aye Captain, I think that big heartless is back again!” Smee noted causing Hook to growl angrily once again, the sound of something hitting against his desk echoing loudly. “Set a course for the other direction, we'll lose that blasted heartless soon enough!”

“Aye captain.” Smee replied with a nod. I blinked a few times before sliding down the rock, landing on my feet with a heavy thud and gazed back up, raising a brow.

“Well that was strange for sure,” I retorted, pulling my hood down momentarily and gazed upwards seeing Tinkerbell was also watching the whole conversation. I narrowed my eyes, leaving my hands to rest at my hips. “So, what have you've been doing Tinkerbell??? It looks like you're causing your own little mischief with Hook.” I observed. Tinkerbell waved her hand nonchalantly at the idea causing me to slump with a deflated sigh. Suddenly there was another loud screech that rang loudly in the air causing my ears to perk up and scan the area.

“What was that?” I asked. Tinkerbell shrugged causing me to narrow my eyes and look up in the air. I decided to climb half way up the boulder to look around. I glanced around till I pin-pointed something in the air.

A dark cloak—Organization XIII.

I began crawling back down the rock and slide down to land on the ground below. I looked around and didn't see anything but the organization member. Okay here did that screeching come from then. Tinkerbell suddenly began glowing brightly, flying up in the air as she stared curiously at where the Organization member was at. 

“Tinkerbell! Where are you going?!” I yelled questionably, flailing my arms around. Suddenly the screech went off again and a huge heartless flew over causing Tinkerbell to glide right back down to me and hide on my head. My eyes widen at the sight, surprised that I didn't see it before. Was that the owner of the screech I heard?

Well, it would make sense. I threw my hood over my head and began crawling up the rock formation till I reached the top and turned. I gazed over to see the organization member was attempting to fight it but the heartless was very strong, managing to gust powerful winds that literally hurled the member a good distance in the air before the winds died down and he was able to charge again. I narrowed my gaze, seeing a weapon being swung out—

 Oh hell no. No....it couldn't be.....was that Roxas?!?

I began crawling back done to the ground below and landed solidly. I was not going to deal with that right now. I suppose I can call this mission complete, that's a wrap. I dug my hand into my pocket, pulling out my cell phone and began texting Namine to get me the heck out of here when suddenly I heard a loud crash causing me to jump. “What the heck is going on over there?!” I murmured worriedly. I turned to face the wall, my arm extending out to grab hold of the wall when I suddenly stopped myself and pulled back. I sighed angrily, crossing my arms under my armpits. I can't, I know I can't. Even if it's Roxas. I can't do it. I huffed, grumbling to myself as I began walking away, about to take a step off and fly away from the Skull Island when I suddenly heard a ringing sound. The ringing sound repeated several times in my ears when Tinkerbell flew to my face, her face burning red in annoyance as she swung her arms around and pointed to Roxas's direction then back to mine's.

“What?” I demanded, putting my hand on my hips. “What do you want me to do about it?!?”

Tinkerbell glared, pointing her a finger against the tip of my nose for a few seconds before she threw her arm to the side towards his direction for emphases. I stared at her oddly for a few minutes, not quite understanding till I saw her eyes were shooting back and forth in the same motion she was doing before too. Slowly, my eyes widen and I began shaking my head.

“Oh no,” I slowly began. “No, no, no!” Her eyes widen, looking at me in shock as I crossed my arms.

“I can't help him! We're enemies! He's an Organization member and what not” I explained to her. Tinkerbell sharply pointed at me again, giving me a dark stare as I returned the stare back, my lips curling into an annoyed frown. “I know you don't care but I do! I can't risk—” I was interrupted when the little fairy flew up and out of my sight....that is until I felt something tugging at my hair....roughly.

“Youch! Ow! Ow! Stop that! Ouch!” Even if she was little she still had such a strong grip. AHH! My hair! Ow!

“Tinkerbell! Let go of my hair” I snapped angrily but she completely ignored it as I felt another sharp tug and I swear she was ripping my hair out at the same time. Freaaaaaak. My left brow twitched angrily as I raised my hand out, beginning to feel the string of electricity wrap around my hand before I swayed my arm to the side and launched it forward.

“THUNDAGA!” I shouted. The bolt of lightning made contact with the large avian heartless causing it to shriek

“HAPPY?!” I demanded, feeling the tugging cease and I saw Tinkerbell lean out of my hood, nodding in satisfaction at the work. I twitched, sighing loudly. Tinkerbell....is honestly very rude and mean when it comes to what she wants. Ughhh. The heartless picked itself up from the ground, shaking it's body wildly before it's head snapped towards my direction, it's eyes dilating with my reflection shining widely off it. I glared and slapped my head.

“This must be payback for the ice thing...I see how it is Tink. You're such a forgiver” I growled angrily.

Tinkerbell simply gave me a thumbs up before crawling into the back of my hood as I flashed my keyblade out swinging it in front of me, ready to battle. At least this must've been the heartless DiZ was talking about. Heh, at least they'll be some meaning in it. The heartless turned, screeching loudly in my direction before turning back towards Roxas—what the heck boy!? Why didn't you get out of there when I gave you the chance!

I suppressed an annoyed sigh, dashing forward from the top of the skull till I jumped, gliding off in the direction the heartless was at. I landed in front of Roxas, who was still standing, the head of his keyblade touching the ground as he was trying to regain his breathe. “W-Wh-Who—?” He began but both of our attention was caught towards the large heartless that shattered the ice I encased it in, roaring loudly as it spread its wings out and a blast of wind was let loose. I raised my arm up, shielding my face for the most part as I could feel my feet drag slightly from the force. Once the winds died down though I took no hesitation to charge.

“Freeze!” I hissed, throwing my hand out as the ice began to coat its feet and the wings once again in an even heavier coat of ice. The heartless howled in annoyance but I didn't stop there as I threw my hand up, casting several lightning spells after another till I could tell that this heartless wasn't going to last that much longer. I charged forward, skidding against a small coat of ice on the ground before I leaped off the frozen extended part of the wind, spinning around as I casted Aero on myself to hurl myself even higher into the air.

“HA!” I slashed downwards, completely cutting through the heartless. I landed on the ground, feeling the keyblade disappear from my grip. I stood up, turning to see the heartless cry loudly before slumping against the ground, the giant heart disappearing into the air before fading away, the large pink heart floating up into the air before it faded into sparkles then nothingness.

I stared at the space where it disappeared for a moment before turning back around. Well! Mission accomplished!  I should head out, call Namine, get the heck out of here, and— “Hey!” My body stiffened, turning my head to see Roxas was standing properly now, the fading green light of a cure diminishing from him. “Who are you?” he demanded.

......Well.

I didn't say anything, I just stared widely at him before facing forward and took off. “Hey wait!” I heard Roxas shout but I wasn't stopping now. Nope. I leapt off the edge of the rock formation and flew off to return to the Skull Island.  I landed on the ground but I didn't stop there, I continued running and followed the path deeper into the island.

“Shit” I swore under my breathe, looking around the dead end I had somehow ended up in and attempted to find some way out of here. Uh, not looking good so far. “Hey!” My eyes widen and I spun around to find Roxas at the entrance of this dead-end, skidding to a stop as he looked at me. “Xion?” He asked.

Ohhh.....he would think I’m Xion.

I clenched my teeth, throwing my hand out to the side as my keyblade formed and I grabbed onto it. I saw Roxas take a step back, startled by the sudden move. I wanted to say something but I couldn't....not now. Swallowing roughly, I took a step back. I didn't want trouble, didn't want to be caught but it looks like I have and if fighting is my way out of this, then so be it.

At first he did nothing but when he took a step forward, I charged and immediately he swung his keyblade out to block in retaliation. The sound of metal clashing erupted in my ears as everything suddenly became clear and focused. I gritted my teeth together, swinging my arm back and forth as I attempted to get a strike on Roxas but he was able to block them efficiently. I have to be able to spin him around at least to let me escape from the entrance of this dead-end. If I can do that at least then I’m home free.

I ducked low to the ground as Roxas swung outwards, missing my head abut a few inches while I threw my arm up, blocking the attack he sent spiraling downward as we slowly began switching positions in the room. I felt the sweat begin to fall down my temple as I gulped lowly. Almost there, almost there. The swift and precise fighting went on for another five minutes, I was almost finally spun around enough to make my escape—

“All right! That's enough!” Roxas suddenly snapped, jumping away from my next strike. I furrowed my brows together, keeping my keyblade raised in front of me defensively as I watched him cautiously. Dang it, I was soooo close.

What was he planning on doing??

Roxas released his grip on his handle and the keyblade disappeared. His eyes were narrowed, looking at me as his arms remained by his sides. “Why did you save me earlier?” He asked. I clenched my teeth tightly, Gaah. Namine, get me out of here! I texted you like 15 minutes ago! You should've at least responded back by now. I didn't answer, remaining still as stone but suddenly I felt something shake along the back of my hood and suddenly I could see the slight glow of Tinkerbell escaping from my hood.

Oh right...she was still in there.

Tinkerbell suddenly flew up to Roxas, twirling around him causing him to smile lightly. “Hey, it's you again,” He greeted. I raised a brow. He meet Tinkerbell—ohhh, right, hence how he's able to fly and everything. Right, I got to play the game once I get a free time. I am close. I know it. I feel it.

Roxas turned to me, glancing back to Tinkerbell as if he knew whatever she was saying. Well...beats me. Sora had a pretty good idea of what she was trying to tell us whenever we summoned her. Maybe that's why she likes Roxas so much, he really did remind her of him. “You got her to help me?” Roxas inquired from the little fairy. Tinkerbell nodded vigorously, smiling lightly. Curse you Tinkerbell, you betrayed once more to the adorable blonde haired nobody....oh why...why do you have to be so adorable...gah.

I turned my head slightly, my eyes darting around. Why can't I find any way out of here!??!

“Well, thank you, I appreciate the help.” Roxas said, turning back to face me. “Although, you wear our cloaks…you can't be...”

“You know...you're really naïve,” The words slipped out of my mouth causing Roxas's eyes to widen. “Huh?”

I lowered my keyblade down to rest the head of it onto the ground. Well, might as well keep talking. I blinked slowly, lifting my attention from the ground to him. “Remember...you can't trust everyone,” I exclaimed lowly. “Especially those who you call comrades. Not everyone is as they seem”

Roxas blinked a few times then his eyes suddenly narrowed. “Wait do I know you?”

I frowned sadly and looked back down to the ground. So many things I wanted to ask, to tell him but I knew I couldn't. At this point...I couldn't do anything or change anything. I let the pause of silence drift around till I looked back up to him.

“Maybe. In another life...you will,” The vibration within my pocket had caught my attention, expanding the growing pain in my chest. My time here was running out.

“Wait, what do you mean another life? How do you know me?!” He demanded, his voice straining impatiently by my words. I sighed lowly. I wanted to say sorry, sorry for everything that was going to happen but the words wouldn't come out. I simply couldn't do it. I lifted my head faintly, narrowing my eyes to him.

“You'll find out soon enough,”

The portal formed behind me and I could see his eyes widening, his muscles and chest constricting slightly underneath his coat. I took a step back towards the portal. I sighed lightly, shaking my head. “You still don’t know everything, Roxas.” I scoffed softly. I smiled gently at him. I quickly backed into the portal, staring at the last of the light I would see and probably the last time I would ever see Roxas like this. I sighed softly. It had to be this way.

“Michelle!”

I swiftly turned around, my eyes widening at the sound of my name. He knew who I was, Roxas knew my name. Before anything could be done, the portal collapsed and Neverland was out of my reach. I stood in the darkness of the corridors, my chest constricting. He remembered. He knew who I was. Oh no. His memory progression was getting better...and that only meant he had only a little time left. I sighed angrily, looking down at my feet but began moving, knowing I had nowhere else to go but back.

**===FFW===**

Exiting out the portal, I saw Namine waiting patiently nearby, her hands folded neatly over her stomach as she sat at the end of the table. My eyes narrowed, finding it a bit odd that Namine decided to bring me here to the White Room, her own personal little drawing room. I turned, facing Namine and meeting her violet blue eyes.

“Where's Riku?” I demanded.

“He's not here, I believe he said he was going to go somewhere soon. He wouldn't be back for a few hours.” Namine answered.

I huffed, crossing my arms in disappointment. I’ll see him

“So, did you meet him?”

I stopped turning the doorknob, pausing as I turned my head towards Namine's direction to see she was currently working on another drawing, seeing two silhouettes in a cave, one I was able to identify as Roxas but the other still had the hood on its head. My eyes narrowed and I glanced up to her but she didn't meet my gaze, simply continuing her drawing. I sighed lowly, turning on my heel and opened the door, deciding to walk away. I headed down the stairs and before I left the mansion, I received a call from DiZ on how the mission went and I said it went smoothly, the heartless was taken out without real effort and that's all I told him. He didn't need to know about my encounter with Roxas. That would be a secret all for myself.

Eventually I found myself walking outside, my mind in a sort of buzz as I began to walk unconsciously. Didn't know what I was doing at this point. Too many things were going on in my mind at this point. I can't help but wonder......how will this end.....?

Soon enough I found myself glancing out the highest view of Twilight Town, the Clock-Tower. I stared out towards the sunset, leaning my back against the tower and crossed my arms. I remember slightly...that Riku said something about if we ever were to separate for some reason to meet up at the Clock-Tower. I shook my head slightly, sliding against the wall till I was sitting down, my knees up with my arms stretched out on top of them. This was the last thing I saw with Flare...this strange sunset that never rise or set. My eyes lulled lightly as I found my head tilting up and down but I allowed myself to shut my eyes, finally drifting off into a deep sleep.

_==============================================================================_

_I pushed another heavy pair of white doors, my panting echoing the hall._

_"I liiive" I croaked, falling from the doorway. I stumbled into the hallway, falling on my knees as I decided to lay on my back. No, never again_

_Soot still covered my pants as I laid on the ground, panting heavily as I attempted to regain my breath after that terrifying hellfire I was almost engulfed in. Nooooooo. Not ever going through those doors again. I didn't think fighting Maleficent would be that terrifying...but it was and so painfully difficult doing it by myself...I really thought I was going to die._

_That shows for sure why I never actually participated in that battle! Hah! What use I could've been during the real thing with the real insane witch!_

_I sighed irritably, rubbing my forehead and shook my hand of the sweat that poured down. Now...all I really needed was a few minutes of rest....or an hour. An hour would be nice. Is that so much to ask for?_

_"Well, look at what we have here?"_

_My heart stopped beating for a split second and my eyes snapped open to find emerald eyes peering down at me, red brows raised up. OH--_

_I bolted up, nearly hitting the red head nobody's head but he stumbled backwards while I got back onto my feet, spinning around with wide eyes as I finally took in that I was still in Castle Oblivion especially with Organization XIII running around. An hour was too much to ask for huh!?_

_I guess I can't ever relax here in Castle Oblivion where to find is to lose and to lose is to find—gaaaaaah! MARLUXIA! YOU'RE FREAKING QUOTE GOT STUCK IN MY HEAD!_

_I growled, shaking my head roughly with my dark hair flying all around before I pointed accusingly._

_"What—you!" I said pointingly. "Axel!"_

_Axel blinked, his emerald eyes widening in amusement before he let out a hearty laugh, running a hand through his wild, spiked red hair. He stood tall, wearing the signature Organization XIII cloak that fit perfectly to his hour-glass shaped body. How is it that a guy could have a better body then most women?_

_"Hey! You got it, didn't even have to introduce myself! Heh, guess I'm becoming popular around here." Axel remarked cheerfully. I blinked a few times, turning my head as my lips curled into a small smirk. Oh, you're more than popular, you have a rabid fan-base. You'll never know about that. Hehe, yet now I just blew my cover, I said somebody's name without actually having a reason for telling them. Uhh....how am I going to cover this up if he were to ask?_

_....Uh....lucky guess?_

_"But oh well, Flare must've mentioned me when she introduced you to this place." Axel smirked, resting his hand on his hip. I blinked a few times, totally taken aback by that. Okay....that works too. Actually that works much better than what I originally had in mind. "Yeah…let's go with that" I murmured. I shook my head, instantly going on a defensive as I pointed at Axel and stared cautiously at him._

_"All right, so what do you want?" I demanded._

_Axel stared down at me…and holy crap…I just realized how tall he was. I shrunk slightly but eventually simply stood up straight with my head held high He looked at me blankly, blinking slowly._

_"Hasn't anyone told you that pointing is rude?" He asked in the most obvious tone I have ever heard. I flushed lightly, scoffing as I crossed my arms against my chest. Axel rolled his eyes before throwing his arm out and I dropped my arms to my sides to quickly catch hold of three cards. I blinked a few times, looking down at the cards._

_Destiny Island, a place called Floraura Village, and Twilight Town._ _I blinked a few times, studying the cards for a few minutes before looking back up at Axel._

_“What are these for? I thought I would have to fight you or something for them. Well, that's what I figured after fighting Dekrex and Nelixad. Twice.” I rolled my eyes. Who were those guys? I mean seriously._

_Axel smirked, crossing his arms._

_“No, I’m letting you off the hook right now. I got no business with you, besides...” He trailed off, looking momentarily around him causing me to raise a brow. Once he was done looking around, he turned back to face me. "I actually need you to do me a favor." Axel responded. I lifted a brow, crossing my arms across my chest and looked at him curiously. "A favor?”_

_Axel smirked at me, nodding as he crossed his arms. “Yeah, it involves Flare.” ==============================================================================_

“Michelle?”

“Huh?” I snapped my eyes open, feeling a hand shake my knee roughly. Riku knelt in front of me and held a raised brow, his lips quirked to the side. I yawned, stretching my arms above my head as far as I could go before quickly dropping my arms, waving my hand at Riku.

“Hey, you're back. Finally, how long has it been? No wait, don’t tell me.” I glanced upwards, the time on the clock about to strike 9. “Oh, well look at that. I wake up a day later to finally have you come back...”  I expressed sarcastically.

“You know, you've came along, that would've made things easier. We would’ve been back sooner.” Riku remarked. I rolled my eyes, waving a hand dismissingly at him.

“Yes, but I decided to take the mission DiZ had intended to give to you instead of me.” I batted my eyelashes innocently as I rested my chin on my hand. “Besides, some people actually need sleep.” 

“You probably only slept for like five hours,” Riku replied deadpanned. “That's better than nothing Mr. Insomniac,” I retorted.

Riku frowned at me while I continued smirking, resisting on breaking out into a full smile. The one thing I could win with was the subject of sleeping, yet I feel like it's a failing case. Riku always seems to be energized and it makes me worry that it may have something to do with the darkness in him. My smirk eventually died down as I finally uncrossed my arms from atop of my legs and rested them beside me.

“What did you find? Anything useful” I decided to ask. Riku shook his head, turning his head behind him slightly before facing back at me. “Let's leave that a secret....” I blinked a few times, my eye brows raised in surprise.

“So what now?”

“Well, I do believe Xion wanted to converse with us more.” Riku exclaimed. I raised a brow, leaning past him to find—Oh! Right, Xion's here...with us for right now. She stood unsurely behind him, her hood veiled over her face causing me to blink a few times and all I could feel was a sudden rush of blood to my cheeks.  Awkward.

“Uhhhhhh…” I held the same note, moving my body back to face Riku, shaking my hands as I looked at him demandingly. 'Why didn't you tell me she was still here!?' I mouthed angrily to him. Riku smirked, crossing his arms against his chest, 'Since you're always such a morning person I thought you would've been ready...or at least remembered Xion was with us currently.' Riku retorted silently.

I kept my jaw open in disbelief. That piece...of........

“OH! I am going to get you one of these days man!” I snapped quietly, jabbing a finger into his chest. Riku smirked, swatting away my hand while I grumbled, quickly attempting to flatten out the frizz on top of my head. Oh, there was no point to it anymore. Just let it be. I grumbled, placing my right hand into my pockets as I stood slightly behind Riku. I scratched my cheek, glancing between her and Riku. Ever since meeting Roxas in Neverland, my mind has still been in a sort of haze. Really, I had almost forgotten everything that had happened before the mission in Neverland. But I wouldn't tell them, no, I don't think there's ever going to be a right to tell them about my encounter with Roxas.

“Sorry about that,” I muttered loudly, rolling my eyes and slightly glared at Riku before staring at Xion. “Maybe we should talk on solid ground.” I suggested sheepishly, my eyes casting towards the edge as I paled lightly.

“All right then,” Riku turned along with Xion, heading around the corner to the door that lead down the Clocktower and back to the safety of the ground. I was going to follow but I took a second to look off to the side, staring at the sunset. It was honestly a beautiful sight for sure….and it made me somewhat sad. I glanced downwards, guilt beginning to build up in me. A lot is going to happen soon…and I don’t even know the half of it.  So many new things came up to complicate then in between story of Kingdom Hearts to Kingdom Hearts 2.....how is this going to end for everything to connect still?

“Michelle?” I jumped lightly, turning to see Xion was there, waiting patiently for me by the wall of the tower. “Are you coming?”

“Y-yeah, hehe” I rubbed the back of my neck as I smiled softly to her.

**===FFW===**

“All right, so we’re not heading back to the mansion any time soon,” I turned, raising a brow questionably, “right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan” Riku retorted. “But why? I mean, beside the fact that Xion is with us,” I turned to her, smiling sheepishly. “No offense.”

“DiZ is most likely still in downstairs and I don’t think the first thing he wants to see when he comes back is a Nobody from Organization XIII. Especially a wanted one that is being hunted down by the others.” Riku retorted curtly. I frowned, glancing over to Xion seeing her eyes were casted to the ground and I sighed. Well, aren’t you the ladies’ man Riku?

Ugh. I’ll never understand why people are in love with him….beside the fact that he’s hot.  “So, what are we supposed to do? Since you guys are deciding not to let me in on what you guys found out.” I remarked, shooting an annoyed stare at Riku. He avoided the stare, crossing his arm.

“We have to keep moving, we have to keep the Organization off her trail, I’m sure they’re already heading to Castle Oblivion to investigate on our appearance there.”

“You guys went to Castle Oblivion?!” I demanded, holding my hands on my hip. “What the heck did I miss while I was gone?!”

Xion opened her mouth momentarily but Riku had cut her off, turning to face me fully. “Later Michelle.” Riku chided causing me to frown.

Oh come on. Let's just hear it now and get it over with. I attempted to see if I could bring the subject up again but Riku wouldn't have any of it and in the end we walked down to enter the street where it would lead down to the Usual Spot. Xion and I conversed quietly, namely on how Neverland was. It seems like she has never been there and she still wishes to see it. Roxas apparently has told her all about it....it only made me wonder how he must've felt when he saw me back in Neverland. He really thought I was her, Xion that is. My stomach twisted in guilt as I gazed away for a few moments before looking back to her and explaining how Neverland was certainly a place she shouldn't miss out on. I smiled at Xion when I noticed her frowning lightly.

“Are you okay Xion?” I asked concerningly.

“Yeah,” She replied indifferently. I blinked a few times, frowning before I wagged a finger to her. “Can’t say that. It's clear to see something is bothering you,” I rested my hands on my hips, my head tilted. “So spill,”

Xion didn't turn to face me, looking towards the ground as she sighed heavily. I lifted a brow demandingly, hoping she would at least say something.

“I miss my friends.” She replied softly. My eyes widen, slightly frowning at her answer as I gazed towards the ground, humming lowly. Roxas and Axel. She misses them. I looked back up to her then rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling sadly. “It's hard but you're doing this for you, you gotta remember that.” I reminded her.

Xion frowned at my words and turned her head away from me causing me to sigh and I moved my hand away from her shoulder. Probably not the best advice she would've liked to hear right now but hey...that's all I got right now. I rubbed my neck, continuing to walk forward before I noticed Riku stopping, holding an arm out. Xion turned to face him while I quickly flipped my hood over my head, catching sight of something. That's not what anyone wanted to see right now.

“Shit....” I swore lowly, blinking rapidly at the sight. Roxas and Axel were here...oh god. What were they doing here?!

I hope they weren't the ones after Riku when he went to Castle Oblivion, wait, then why aren’t they there now. Did something happen that caused them to retreat here, was it Roxas's memories. Xion sharply gasped and I darted my eyes over to Riku. “Get her out of here...” Riku whispered lowly and I nodded immediately. Soon enough Roxas and Axel turned in our direction and were caught wide out in the open.  I turned to Xion, ignoring anything Roxas or Axel was saying at the moment and focused simply on her.

“Xion, think you can open a portal?” I whispered.

Xion was hesitant to answer but she nodded in agreement. She held a hand out, the dark portal rippling and formed from the ground. I turned seeing Roxas take a step forward, staring intently at the Xion.

“Xion?!”

Slowly Xion turned around, entering the portal as I entered from behind quickly, hearing Roxas was coming in close but as I turned my head for a moment, I saw Riku move in front of the portal before it closed, darkness engulfing my vision. I hastily moved forward, seeing the faint outline of Xion in front of me. I came up to her side, turning around swiftly to make sure no would appear. Because that's the last thing either of us would want. 

“C'mon we have to move just in case Axel and Roxas try following us!”

I grabbed her arm, leading her forward unsurely, my eyes darting around. Sometimes portals would open up at random in this darkness, opening up towards a new random world but they weren't stable all the time. Most of the times you wouldn't even see them form in the world unless something were to decide to enter through it in which it would stabilize and form a link between the dark path and to the world. I knew for the most part which one to go through. The faint light from those portals opening and closing allowed me to see exactly where I was running to and where I could've went next. I had to stay in Twilight Town, that's for sure. I needed to stay close just in case something was to happen. If something were to happen to Riku during this fight—man I don't know what I would do! I mean, he can be a jerk sometimes but—

My eyes widen but I couldn't let the thought stop me now as I shot a glance to Xion before facing forward. A portal formed beside us and I stopped momentarily. I saw a rippled glimpse of what lied beyond the portal, seeing the bright sunset of Twilight Town glittering as I heard the loud strike of the Clock-Tower ringing in the distance.

“Let's head this way!” I tugged at her sleeve slightly, turning to her as she nodded and I decided to release my grip on her. We rushed forward, the portal stably adjusting as we phased through it, the dark ground shifting into a brick pavement as the sunlight blinded us momentarily. We exited from the portal, looking around to where we were. It seems like we had arrived back at the Train Common, standing near the front doors of the train station. I breathed in a few times, gazing around to make sure no one was here. Well, it looks like that was a quick escape.

“Okay, we should be safe here for right now but we have—” I began.

“Oh you're very safe here. If you don't consider me to be a threat.” My heart suddenly dropped like a brick at the sound of the voice. Shit. Shit. Shiiiiit. We both spun around and saw Flare leaning against the wall of the Train Station, gazing at our direction.

“Flare!” Xion exclaimed in shock. Flare smiled curtly, turning her head to face Xion fully.

“Well this is a surprise. Xion, everyone has been so worried, it seems you forgot to RTC.” She extended a hand out, smiling kindly to her. “I could gladly take you back.” She offered. Xion took a hesitate step back, her eyes widening as she stared at her direction. I immediately swung my arm out in front of Xion. “Not a chance!” I snapped. Xion stood swiftly, completely unsure on what to do. Flare frowned, withdrawing her hand.

“I see, l that's disappointing to hear,” Her green eyes redirected to me, “It's not a total loss though, I actually came here to see you.”

 “Me?” I repeated, staring accusingly at the nobody. Flare's rod came to hand and she directed it towards me. Oh great, that's why she wants to see me, just peachy. I turned swiftly to Xion, gripping her shoulder. “Xion go!” I ordered.

“But—” I shook my head roughly and stared fiercely at Xion. “I said go! Find Riku, he's probably fine and shook off Axel and Roxas by now.” I told her. I gave a gentle push, giving her the running start she needed to get a portal started. “Now go!”

Xion rushed into the dark portal and it quickly collapsed behind her. With Xion gone, I turned to Flare with my eyes narrowed. “What do you want?” I demanded.

“I see you failed to heed my warnings about lying low. Now you and that other boy are starting to become nuances to our plan,” Flare noted. I raised a brow cautiously resting my hand on my hip. “You honestly thought I was going to listen?” I asked. Her eyes narrowed as she placed both of her hands to rest on the flat top of her rod, the other side resting on the ground. “I had hoped, obviously I have to take directive action.”

I suddenly swung my arm out, my keyblade flashing into existence as I grabbed hold of it. She gripped the top of the rod, swung it upwards and tossed it up into the air. It spun wildly, leaves emitting from it and my eyes narrowed. Here we go.

“Same rules?” I demanded as the wind began to pick up from the ground below and flow around her. “Of course!” She called out, catching her rod and swung it in a battle ready position.

Flare immediately began the fight, swinging her rod down to the ground causing a large blast of air to hurl me backwards in the air. I landed back on the ground, skidding slightly when I looked up seeing her jumping up into the air, twirling the rod above her head as the leafs began to appear by her side. My eyes widen and I rolled out, narrowly avoiding the slam of air that came from her landing impact, leaves striking the area around her. I rebounded quickly from the ground, spinning around before setting my sights on Flare and charged forward. Flare hastily turned, catching notice of me instantly and she held up her rod defensively. I began attack, slamming down the blunt of my attacks against her rod as she continued to block me. She swung her rod around catching the head of the keyblade and twirled the rod swiftly, wrenching the keyblade out of my hands.

“Ow—damn it!” I dropped to the ground, avoiding her slicing the air with her rod and I quickly rolled out the way as she slammed the head down to the ground. “Why is it that you're always attacking me?! I mean, shouldn't that favor I did for Axel mean anything to you?!” I demanded. Flare ducked, swinging her rod against the ground creating a blast of air that nearly sent me tumbling backwards into the air.

“You know that favor you did for Axel in Castle Oblivion eliminated my competition! I didn't have to worry about beridding Dekrex and Nelixad! It was of the best interest of the Organization in which you unintentionally assisted with! I did not care if I had to eventually end them or meet my end so I owe you no favors.” Flare exclaimed.

My eyes narrowed, my teeth flashing as I growled in annoyance. Suddenly her eyes flashed to crystal blue causing me to jump in surprise. What the—

“Take this!” Flare swung her rod out and a gale of air burst forward before slamming into me, hurling me into the wall behind me. I gasped loudly, sliding against the wall till I rested upon the ground. I groaned in pain, clutching my stomach lightly before leaning against the wall, staring up at Flare.

Where the heck did that strength come from?!

“Let's see how you can figure this out now!” Flare charged forward causing my eyes to widen in fear. I took in a deep breath before forcing myself up and rolled to the side, avoiding Flare from stabbing the wall, pieces of brick flying against my back. Holy freaking light crystals!

She's _insaaaaaane!_

I spun around wildly, crouching lightly as I balanced myself out staring at Flare with extreme caution. Her rod was embedded into the wall, her hair shielding her eyes as her jaw was set tightly, her grip on her rod tight as she yanked it out.

“BLIZZAGA!” I snapped my fingers, the icy burst sparking against my thumb and middle finger as a flash of light surrounded Flare before encasing her feet then began to climb up to her legs and lower waist. I extended my hand out to the side, my keyblade returning back to my position and I gripped the handle tightly with both hands. Flare’s sharp azure eyes snapped towards my direction as she growled fiercely. She yelled out angrily, suddenly flames dancing around her feet with the coating ice coming to a halt and steam began forming. Oh heck no. She's not melting my ice right now. Is she?!?!

That's when suddenly her eyes flickered from blue to green and she groaned loudly, holding a hand to her head as the remainder of ice disappeared from her body and the flames going out without a trace. I stared at her then to the light steam that was still admitting from the edges of her coat before looking back up to her face. Oh yeah....I am totally at lost at what happened here.

“Ugh—” Flare casted her gaze down, focusing on me as she glared. She gripped her rod tightly.

“Well don't just stand there, remember we're in a midst of a battle!” She suddenly sprinted forward, her eyes suddenly flickering back to those azure colors as she raised her rod and slashed at me. My eyes widen, hurling my keyblade upward to block several of Flare's rapid attacks. We kept meeting on par, each strike was becoming harder and harder to catch up to. I clenched my teeth before she suddenly stuck her leg out, nearly tripping me but managed to slam her rod right into my side, flipping me over so I landed on my side.

“Uh-oww” I gripped my waist, feeling the burning throbbing on my side. Yeah...that hurts more the normal. I bit down on my lip, using my arm to lift myself up from the ground to look up at Flare, the other one swinging my arm out as I casted a thunder spell at her. She flipped out the way, giving some distance between us and allowed me to recover properly. Her stare at me was absolutely filled with annoyance, brimming on the line of pure anger.

“Okay, its official, you're off your rockers Flare!” I snapped as I got on my knees, still trying to catch my breath. That really knocked the wind out of me. 

Flare glared for a second and she pointed her rod at me. “Let's see how you avoid this!” She exclaimed loudly.

My eyes widen as I saw her swing her rod around in her hand then began swinging in around, slashes of winds coming straight at me. SHIIIIIT. I blocked the first assaults of air before charging at her, sliding against the ground to dodge a few more that whizzed above my head before leaping up back on my feet to slam the keyblade against her rod, halting another wind attack causing it to disperse between. The vibration of the hit shook my arms slightly but I forced myself to keep pressure on her weapon. I wasn't going to hold back anymore.

I began wildly swinging the keyblade against her rod, each hit getting stronger than the last. I slashed back and forth, not giving up as Flare began to have some difficulty blocking me seeing that she kept pacing backwards. I would manage a few blows here and there but she was keeping up with me for the most part. My eyes narrowed as I spun around, throwing the head of the keyblade in an angle to twist Flare's rod out of her grip but the woman was quick, doing a backwards somersault and kicked my chin with her foot. Gaah. What the hell!

My head craned backwards and I nearly stumbled over but I slammed my keyblade on the ground to keep me supported and I gazed up seeing Flare catch her rod between her feet, letting the rod slide down the outside of her leg as she landed back on her feet and caught the rod before it fell on the ground. I rubbed my neck and chin when suddenly Flare swung out her rod out and a blast of air slammed into me hurling me into the ground. I shut my eyes tightly, groaning lightly in pain. Curse this poor reaction skill I seem to possess....and her unnatural speed right now. I groaned, sitting up as I saw Flare glare, raising her arm up and my eyes widen seeing a strange...glow around her body.

“STOP MOVING!”

Flare's hand extended out, a ball of flames forming in the center of her palm when suddenly it began turning dark. The once brilliant red flames twisted a darker color at the center before it began to spread and before I knew it, the flames had turned black as night. My eyes widen, stumbling onto my feet as I gazed at the flames that grew in her hand.

“What the hell—” I began, my eyes fixated on the dark spell forming. She has never used dark magic like that before. Where the heck is this stuff coming from!?

The dark fira shot out towards my direction, doubling in size causing my eyes to widen in horror at the sight. I didn't think twice as I threw myself out the way, rolling out of the way just as the flames buzzed past me crashed into the ground a little bit off from where I was once standing. I held an arm over my eyes, turning my body to face   the ground, seeing it was still burning with the dark fire. I could hear the faint crackling of the flames and mainly heard my own heart bounding in my ear drums. I rested my hand on my heart, feeling it beat wildly against it.

What....what was that?

I turned my head to face Flare, surprised to see she was frozen solid on the spot. Her arm was still sustained in the air but she was quick to pull it to her, looking down at her hand then back to the damage she had done. Her eyes had returned back to their normal deep green and she turned her head to meet my eyes. They stared blankly at me before they suddenly twisted in fear as if they were finally realizing the account of what she had done. She took a hesitate step back, nearly stumbling.

Flare stood still once again, her arm shaking before she gripped her rod tightly, spinning it around as leaves emitted from it. Flare then swung it out, a gale of wind blasting towards my direction. I held my arm above my face, shielding it as I felt the leaves scrape against my coat before the wind suddenly died down, the leaves drifting down to the ground. I blinked wildly as I dropped my arm down to my stomach as I looked back up to see the remnants of the dark portal before it closed up and disappeared. I groaned, sitting up properly to stare ahead, my chest rising up and down.

“What was that all about?” I demanded.

Literally, she freaked out. Never have I seen her act like that—to leave so abruptly without a snarky remark I held a hand to the wall, picking myself up and cringed slightly. Ow, my back. I began walking away beginning to head into the underground tunnels. I remained near the entrance, my back stinging still as my legs felt slightly weak. I scanned around till I saw a portal suddenly forming in front of me. I tensed, placing a hand on the wall to help support myself when I saw a figure come out the portal and I relaxed instantly. Riku appeared from the portal with Xion following moments afterwards.

“So, I guess you lost them” I noted. He nodded.

“And Flare?” My eyes narrowed and I gazed away from them to the ground. “She’s gone, I’m not sure what happened.” I exclaimed. Xion's eyes widen momentarily before Riku nodded. “All right, let's relocate”

**===FFW===**

My eyes were glued to the ground as we headed into the woods, managing to loose complete track of Roxas and Axel. I kept in front alongside with Riku as Xion kept close behind to us. My pace slowed down as the thoughts began to accumulate in my head. With what's going on with Organization XIII, Roxas in general, Axel and that favor  of his that decided to bite me in the butt with  Flare now becoming a bit more unpredictable and honestly a little crazy. I rubbed my chin slowly, my thoughts wandering around.

“Can't you open the dark portals yourself?” Xion suddenly asked that caused me to stop with Riku stopping a few moments afterwards. I turned to her, shaking my head.

 “No, I can't.” I held a hand out simply to try and prove the point. Nothing appeared, nothing was felt. No darkness or that weird connection as Riku described it as he opened the portal. No, nothing for me, I was never going to be able to open that door, not unless I allowed myself into the darkness.

 “See, can't open a darn thing. I usually have Riku or a friend of ours to help me out to getting to other worlds.” I explained. I looked over to Riku, putting a hand on my hip and nodded, indicating I was ready for the change in scenery. Riku stared at me momentarily before turning slightly, holding a hand out as the dark portal rippled under his fingertips. It warped upwards from the ground, pulsating with darkness before finally stabilizing.

“We'll have to keep moving, Xion and I will go around to other worlds while you stay here Michelle, we'll be back in the morning tomorrow.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, we'll be fine. Just make sure DiZ doesn't come out and notice I’m gone and we should be good.” I nodded solemnly in agreement. “All right, be careful you guys” I turned hastily on my heel and continued forward, exiting the forest. The gates were still locked as I raised the keyblade up, the tip glowing radiantly and a ray of light connected from the head of the keyblade to the lock. The lock fell off, thudding loudly against the ground. The chains swayed to the side and I pushed past through the gates and rushed towards the mansion.

I entered the mansion and quickly headed up the stairs. I slipped into my room, quickly locking the door behind me before I slid against the door to sit down on the ground. I sighed loudly, crossing my arms on my knees before resting my forehead on them. There was too much to think about. Organization XIII, Roxas, Xion, Axel, Flare, Namine, DiZ, Riku, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy too. Sometimes I wonder if that offer Namine gave me is still up for grabs, to forget Castle Oblivion, meeting Flare and Axel, and to forever forget the favor I had done for Axel that resulted in the deaths of two. I scratched my head lightly before sighing once again.

There are some things that you can truly never forget.


	10. The Sun Sets Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All righty! A new chapter is out and from this point on it's a bit more my own personal touch to the series, it's a lot more original, as the next chapter will be especially, so I hope you don't mind the craziness that follows. Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

Day 298

What a great way to start off the day. Doing absolutely nothing.

I rested my head against the bed board, hanging upside down as I simply let my hair sway side to side. My hair really grew long. I was surprised when I actually looked at it….at this angle. I blinked a few times, twirling my fingers around my dark locks. The blood was surely rushing through my head but at this point, the dizziness nor the increasing pressure in my head wasn’t bothering me. I feel sort of empty at this point. I guess it’s because of all the stuff that has been going on. My thoughts still lingered onto Flare, recalling those vibrant azure eyes that were to Cloud’s eye color. Mako kind of blue. They were intense, cold, and….yet they seemed in pain, holding something hidden that couldn’t be described.

I feel like they didn’t belong to Flare, perhaps, they belonged to her somebody. Honestly, I didn’t know if that was even a possibility. If her Somebody had blue eyes….wouldn’t her Nobody have blue eyes as well?

It didn’t seem to add up, especially the way they flourished and then flickered away, it was almost unreal. It was actually kind of scary to see. My thoughts kept replaying to that moment in time, unable to escape those blue orbs that once stared straight through me—and the darkness that she was able to create. Okay. I knew for a fact that Flare could not use dark spells and if she did well then that was a great time to reveal that strength during that battle to catch me completely off guard. But the questions remained, has she really had that dark power in her this whole time….or did it suddenly appear along with the sudden change in eye color?

I sighed in aggravation, forcing myself upwards and sat up properly on the bed. I rested my hand against my cheek, staring blankly to the wall. I scratched my cheek and glanced over to the mirror near the bed, seeing my cheeks had turned a dark red, probably a sign I’ve been hanging upside down too long. Oh god. I groaned loudly, flopping onto my stomach. I rested my forehead against the pillow, rubbing my palm gently against the back of my head. It didn’t add up. There was still so much I didn’t know…it looks like I’m just going to have to keep hacking away until I find the truth.

A knock on the door caused me to sit up abruptly and I quickly composed myself before getting up. I began to open the door, half expecting it to be Namine when I opened it and found it to be….Xion. My eyes widen in surprise, gripping onto the door as I held it wide open. “Xion! You’re back!” I stepped out into the hallway gazing around then down the stairs before realizing no one else was here. It was only her.  I glanced to Xion, raising a brow. What happened to Riku?

“When did you get here? Where’s Riku?” I asked.

“Riku is speaking with Namine at the moment.” Xion exclaimed in a monotone causing me to blink a few times. Okay, she’s speaking rather awkwardly right now. I stood by the doorway, tapping my fingers against the wooden side as I studied her, trying to figure out what

“Okay, um, is there some reason you wanted to speak with me?” I questioned unsurely, raising a brow at her while crossing my arms against my chest. Xion’s eyes softened as she gazed down, her lips dropping to a frown causing my stare to narrow “It’s about Flare.”

Instantly I straightened up, my eyes narrowing as I focused my stare on her. She wanted to talk about Flare. My eyes gazed around, making sure no one else was around before nodding. She glanced behind her before nodding and I simply stepped out the room, closing the door behind me before heading across the room towards the Dining Room. Xion entered the room as I gently closed the door behind me, quickly facing Xion.

“What’s up?”

“Why did Flare want to speak with you?” Xion asked. My eyes narrowed as my lips quirked to the side. “Well, it wasn’t really talking per say…” I began and I noticed her eyes widen. “You two fought?”

“Well it wasn’t more of a fight—it was more of a ‘me’ running around, wildly trying to avoid Flare’s attacks.” I exclaimed lamely. I turned to her and blinked wildly, “Does Flare know dark attacks?”

“No, I don’t believe so.” Xion crossed her arms, hugging her sides. I ran a hand roughly through my hair when I rested my other hand on my hip. “Flare doesn’t normally go out on the field and when she does its serious business.”

“Well it seemed like she came on her own accord since she was out to basically kick my butt,” I scoffed bitterly before sighing, drumming my fingers against my arm, “do you know Flare enough to be able to tell me what’s wrong with her?” I questioned. Xion shook her head instantly causing me to exhale in disappointment.

“No, Flare is one of the higher ranking members, although she claims not to associate herself with the Organization…or well she used to. She only works in the computer labs and acts as the lone researcher for the group.”

I knew that already ever since Axel got rid of Vexen, Flare moved up to take over all his research. I remember she had told me that during Castle Oblivion and during another mission. I could only wonder if this was planned since then….maybe that’s why Axel got rid of him.

“She only goes on recon missions and certain ones that Xemnas assigns her personally. I’ve only worked with Flare on a few missions and I haven’t seen her ever use dark spells.”

I stared at Xion before scoffing lightly. All right, so Flare was flipping out for some reason and it seems like I’ll never know. I rubbed my neck roughly. “Is there anyone she’s really close with, beside you?”

Xion’s eyes narrowed and she gazed downwards, her mouth forming into a straight line. “I believe she’s close to Axel and Demyx.”

Demyx? Well that’s a strange Nobody to be friends with, considering the way she acts sometimes. I guess odd friendships do exist after all. Though I probably will not see Demyx any time soon since the boy is a lazy one

 “Although she comes off as cool, calculated, and somewhat cold, she can be very nice. She may not be as close to I as Roxas and Axel are but I wouldn’t wish for anything to happen to her either.” My lips quirked to the side, avoiding her gaze. I couldn’t simply imagine that Nobody being someone like that. When I lifted my gaze to meet hers again, it seemed her eyes were traveling to the floor, engulfed in her own thoughts.

“Xion, are you okay...?”

“Yes....” Her sentence seemed to trail off making me turn to her. “I know it must be hard after yesterday but you did what you had to do.”

“It’s...I’m still wondering if what I’m doing is really right” Xion replied.

“What? You’re still indecisive of what you want?” I asked, my eyes widening a bit in surprise. Xion gazed over to me sharply before nodding.  Xion’s gazed moved to the ground as she hugged her arms. “I know it hurts right now…and I honestly can’t tell you how much longer that can go but this is for your good Xion” I noted.

Xion frowned discouragingly at the thought as she turned to me with a sad look. “Is it really? Trying to understand my own existence?”

I sighed in frustration. “Xion...I don’t know if you get this but you can’t do that! I mean, we’re talking about your existence being on the line if you continue with this. Regardless of which side you’re on, you’re going to have to make a sacrifice!”

“But what if I don’t want to make that sacrifice!” Xion snapped. I stopped cold as my eyes widen. She turned her head and stared over to me and instantly I could feel my stomach wrench. Those blues eyes that stared back at me….they reminded me of Sora…Roxas….and her face in general reminded me of Kairi.

“I realize that if I continue existing then Sora may never wake up but I don’t want to abandon my friends either. After what happened yesterday I realized that I was leaving behind all I knew to attempt to find out more of what I am...but all that did was lead me down a confusing road in which I’m stuck between walls.”

My eyes continue to widen as Xion shook her head, the corner of her eyes seeming as if they were brimming but she inhaled deeply, looking over to me. “You can’t say that you understand because you’ve never been in a situation like mine. You haven’t lost your best friends and you haven’t loss your own identity, you’re not holding back someone from waking up and you have memories that are your own…..”

Her gaze sadly dropped to the ground. “You aren’t a puppet”

Xion shook her head. “I’m going to step out into town…I need some place to think clearly” Xion informed me .I held my hand out but then I let it fall to my side and I simply stood there, allowing Xion to continue down the rest of the steps and out the doors of the mansion. I glanced out towards the doorway watching as she entered the forest and disappeared from my line of sight. I sighed in frustration, rubbing the back of my neck roughly.

Was it….was it really for her own good? Or was it for ours?

To have Sora back and continue on his journey to save the worlds but at the price that she would be gone along with Roxas. I rested my hand against my face and instantly looked away. I understand that she’s having it rough but she can’t keep running away at the same time. The conflicting matter, whether to do what was right for a friendship that could never truly last, or what was right for a friendship that was suspended in sleep. I sighed, sitting down on the steps as I crossed my arms and rested my head into my knees.

What we were doing, was it wrong? Were we…just as bad as the Organization?

_ :::FFW::: _

Time passed and I sat patiently at the bottom of the steps of the mansions, my fingers drumming along my knees as I gazed around and kept particular watch on the door. It’s been about an hour since Xion left and I was beginning to wonder what was taking her so long. I mean I can understand how walks take a while but considering the circumstances we were facing I didn’t believe she would take this long. My fingers tapped against my knee at a faster pace as I continued to wait. Time seemed to be going slow right now and I would begin to check the time more and more often. I frowned, hunching slightly forward as I studied the wooden doors. That’s when I heard something slam, echoing throughout the quite room causing me to look up.

“Namine?” I asked, turning my body to look up to the doorway that led to the White room.

No one was up there causing me to blink suspiciously. I stood up and rushed up the steps, heading over to the door that led to the White Room and cautiously pressed my head against the door. The sound of the wind gently entering the room was all I could hear so I opened the door and stepped inside to find just that. There was no one in the room and one of the windows was open, the white curtain gently blowing in the wind. I stepped into the room cautiously, my eyes scanning around the curtains and table. Did the wind shut the door?

A gust entered the room causing the papers to flap against the walls and scatter the ones on the table causing me to jump, especially when the door shut close again. I turned, my lip quirked to one side. Okay….let’s blame the wind on this. I shook my head and then bent down to the floor to begin picking up the fallen pieces of drawings. As I picked up the last one, my eyes actually glanced to the picture and I froze completely. It was a simple drawing with Axel, Roxas, and Xion all standing by each other.

Oh my god.

My mind went blank for a few seconds, simply staring at the drawing before the thoughts began to erupt. Axel and Roxas were here yesterday, they would come again or at least Roxas would. Xion’s out in town right now trying to clear her mind up.

Oh….oh no.

I dropped the papers back on the white table and hastily exited the room, sprinting down the stairs before bolting out the mansion to head to Twilight Town. I rushed into the forest and gazed around before I skidded to a stop. I rested my hand on the tree, taking in a few deep breathes. If I was right then this was the point of the game where Roxas was going to confront Xion and then Axel would come before taking her by force back to The World that Never Was.

My fingers gripped the bark before forcing myself to continue forth and try to find Xion, walking the remaining way to the hole in the wall that lead to Twilight Town. I slid my hands along the wall and peered out to make sure no random civilian was around. I entered Twilight Town with my hands in my pockets, my eyes gazing around cautiously. I couldn’t take any chances at this point. The Organization could be here for all I know but the fact that Xion is here by herself I had to continue forth, try to find her and get her out of here. Why was I being such an idiot before?! Why did I let her go!?

Gaaaah, the regretful mistakes!

Once I saw the coast was clear, I rushed down the main streets trying to see if I could find Xion. Where the heck could she have gone?

I had rushed over to the Train Common, gazing up to the tower to see no one was up there. My brows furrowed together in a concerned manner before I turned on my heel and rushed back down the streets and ended up exploring most of Twilight Town in an attempt to find her. I ended up slowing down by the market place as I was beginning to lose my breath. I leaned against the wall, resting my hand on my chest as it rose rapidly. Man that girl must be moving really fast right now or she’s hiding out. I wiped my forehead of the sweat, hunching over slightly taking in some deep breathe.

“C’mon you guys!”

“Hayner slow down, we’re not all fast like you are!”

I picked my head up seeing Hayner run down the hill, turning on his heel and began to walk backwards as Olette was next to appear from the hill and reach over to him. I blinked a few times, kind of surprise that they hadn’t seen me yet, I suppose I blend into the wall too well.

“Are we getting Sea-Salt ice cream you guys?” Pence asked tiredly, jogging down the hill as he wiped his forehead. He looked just as out of breathe as I was. Hayner turned his attention over to him and nodded, smiling brightly.

“Of course we are! Especially since we’re introducing it to the new member of our little gang.” Hayner remarked cheerfully. I blinked widely, my head following in their direction as they continued to walk down the street. Olette nodded then stopped to turn around and wave behind her.

“You did say you wanted to try Sea-Salt ice cream right, Jazmine?” Olette questioned loudly.

“Yeah I do!”

Another person joined the trio from the hill, a young woman by the looks of it. She had dark hair tied up in a braid, as she wore knee length black pants along with a short sleeve red shirt with a long white sleeved shirt underneath that. She adjusted her glasses when she reached over them and I noticed she was a few inches shorter then both Hayner and Olette, even an inch shorter than Pence.

My jaw dropped, finding what was right in front of me to be extremely hard to believe. No way, it couldn’t have been.

“All right then, Pence’s paying this time since we won the race!” Hayner decided. Pence sighed in disappointment, rubbing his cheek but he smiled afterwards. “Fine with me, so we’re going to get some right now?”

“Yeah,” Hayner smiled challengingly as he turned to face forward, swinging his arm before pointing forward, “Race you guys! Whoever loses this time can help Pence pay!”

“What?” The other three chimed but Hayner laughed loudly, taking off without another word causing Pence to sigh loudly and Olette to mutter, “Here we go again”

“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BEAT ME THIS TIME!” Jazmine yelled, charging forward with Pence and Olette sprinting after her.

My eyes widen, my body turning and watched as the four ran out the Market Place. I stepped out into the open, almost half tempted to run out into the open. To scream, to catch her attention back. Jazmine was alive, Jazmine was actually here and she was safe with the Twilight Town gang. I could feel my lips turn upwards and I couldn’t help but begin smiling. I was taking the first few steps forward to bolt into a sprint when I realized—I couldn’t afford to. The happy emotions that were filling me with hope was quickly drained from my systems. I had to focus on Xion, I had to make sure she got out of here.

I clutched the front of my jacket feeling completely conflicted about what was happening. I had to find Xion because it’s my mission but my best friend—the one thing that was real that was keeping me going beside Sora—was about to disappear if I didn’t go after her right now. I don’t know when I may get a chance to see her again. This was going to be my only chance, I had to take it while I could but Xion—

I bit down on my tongue, shutting my eyes tightly. I know I’m going to regret this somehow but I had to try. I felt like I wasn’t going to get a chance like this for a while.

“JAZMINE!” I called out loudly as I bolted after her down the street. They had already went around the corner so I quickly followed and noticed she was already down the street with the others, entering into the Sandlot. I sighed in annoyance.

They had to race. I clenched my teeth and rushed down the street and hurried down the steps entering into the Sandlot only to find no one was around. I groaned loudly, slapping my face before picking I gazed around, clenching my teeth as I was faced with three possibilities on where they went. Shoot, I missed them. Maybe they went that—

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here.” I stopped walking and froze in my position. Oh no. It was _him._

 “An imposter who wears our cloak that’s running around doing our job, though, you seem to be slacking off today. Doesn’t that sound familiar….” The voice grew closer causing me to stiffen and slowly turn only to have my hood thrown down roughly and emerald eyes narrowing at me.

“It would be you,” Axel remarked casually. I took several steps back, swinging my arm out and my keyblade appeared in my hand. Axel smirked, raising his hands up. “Whoa, someone’s on the defense already.”

"What are you doing here, Axel?!" I demanded, gripping onto the handle of the keyblade tightly. Axel smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Isn’t this funny that I would find you, of all people, running around here?” Axel asked. My brows furrowed together as I kept a grip on my keyblade as Axel took a step forward. “Now the question here is why you’re out here?”

“None of your business!” I waved the keyblade slightly, mockingly waving my hand to signal him to buzz off. “Now go away! I’ve already had enough of the Organization! Flare bothered me enough yesterday, I don’t need you here to wreck me up too!”

Axel’s brow arched up, “Flare was here?”

“Oh don't give me that. You probably knew that she was here.” I spat, rolling my eyes at his supposed obliviousness. “She went berserk yesterday! Using dark magic—her strength doubled what it normally is!” Axel stared at me for a good few moments and I noticed his eyes narrowed questionably. I tilted my head slightly as his eyes darted to the side. Wait a second, was it possible that he honestly didn’t know. I narrowed my eyes, remaining to keep my guard as he ran a hand through his spiked red locks.

“Well it seems like even with all three of us here, we still couldn’t find Xion,” Axel lamented, his eyes darting to me. My breath hitched, my posture fixing itself properly to a stance. “But i'm pretty sure you know where she is." Axel remarked in a matter of fact tone. My eyes narrowed and I turned the keyblade sideways, arming myself for defense.

"I don't know where she is in fact." I lied bluntly.

"Oh?"

"She went off on her own accord,” That was true, “I don't know if she's still here or not."

“Uh huh, as if I should believe that coming from you.” Axel hummed causing me to frown deeply. Okay, catch onto my lies all you want, there still some truth mixed into them. “I knew you were helping her escape yesterday Michelle, I mean, who else could have that been running in the portal with her?”

“Could’ve been anyone,” I answered in a dead flat tone, “I mean who else wears a black coat? Hmmmmm?” I hummed pressingly at Axel causing the other Nobody to roll his eyes.

“I’m being serious now, where is Xion?” His tone changed drastically. No more was the bit of the kidding around tone he held around me, now it was serious.

“I said I don’t know where she, and even if I knew, why would I tell you?!” I demanded, “You know she and Sora are connected. She’s gaining memories that shouldn’t belong to her. She’s lost Axel, she’s trying to make her own decisions!”

“Right now she’s considered a traitor to the Organization. If she keeps going on, we’re going to have to eliminate her!” Axel responded causing my eyes to widen. Would they really do that? I wouldn’t doubt it but what would have been the purpose of creating her anyways. I sighed deeply, shaking my head as I looked at him sternly.

“Axel, this is her decision.” Axel gazed at me, running a hand through his spiked hair. “It’s not as simple as you make it seem, kid.”

“But can’t it be?” I questioned innocently but Axel sighed in frustration, shaking his head.

“I’m trying to protect the last thing I know is still real!” Axel snapped and my stance grew bolder, holding the keyblade out towards him. Oh boy, his attitude is flaring.  “Xion and Roxas are both my friends. I’m trying to keep them safe as long as I can—”

“How long can that go before you lose them both?”  I shouted suddenly. I was surprised myself from my outburst, my eyes widening in disbelief.  Axel became quiet, his lips curling cruelly in anger. Somewhere, Axel must’ve known that was the truth. That was the truth that he was trying to deny from since he learned of it. Axel’s teeth clenched tightly, glaring harshly at me.

“Stay out of my way Michelle, next time if you do something to hurt one of them, I swear I will hurt you back just as bad”

My brows furrowed together. That threat was real, I knew he would do something….I hope it doesn’t involve my own friends…whatever happens…he better deal it with me and me alone. I shut my eyes momentarily, shaking my head slowly before looking back over to him.

“Don’t worry, I’m not about to go and fight Xion or Roxas…” I muttered lowly, my eyes trailed off to the side sadly. I really didn’t want to do this but I have to. To get Sora back….I have to get rid of them both.

“I’m not just talking about them”

I lifted my head up, raising a brow as Axel stared at me dangerously causing my eyes to widen. It was strange…even though nothing was said…I already knew who Axel meant.

Flare.

My lips quirked downwards as I lowered my keyblade, rubbing the back of my neck with my other hand. That would be a much harder task. I….don’t honestly know what’s going to happen with her…hopefully I don’t have to deal with her. Axel seemed

“…Answer me one thing.”

“What?”

“Do you really believe what you’re doing is right?” I questioned.

 “Nothing I’ve done has been.” He responded after a few moments. My brows furrowed when I suddenly a loud screech causing both of us to turn to the side towards the exit of the Sandlot that lead out to the hole in the wall. I blinked once when Axel frowned and we both made eye-contact. We both knew it. It had to be Xion. Now it was going to be a fight to see who got to her first.

Oh boy.

My teeth clenched and just as I was about to run forward Axel threw out his hand, a flaming chakram spinning wildly in the air as he gripped it in his possession then tossed it forward. It spun rapidly in the air as my eyes widen and I threw my keyblade up, blocking the chakram, the intense heat burning my face before I hurled it to the side. Panting lightly, I snapped my attention only to find the Nobody was in front of me, reeling his foot back. Oh sh—

Axel kicked my stomach, the blow hard enough to hurl me backwards through the air before I landed on my back. I groaned in pain, shutting my eyes with my breath instantly taken away from the impact.

“Stay out of my way. That’s the last time I’m going to say it” I could hear Axel say from afar but I couldn’t move to even look over at him. That freaking hurt. I swallowed roughly before mustering up some strength to move, getting up on my knees before taking a shaky stand. I looked around finding Axel had disappeared from sight. I remained in the Sandlot and felt….absolutely weak. I fell on to my knees, my gloved fingers digging into the sand as I felt my shoulders shake and I inhaled deeply. Seconds later I slammed my fist into the ground, learning forward till my forehead was touching the ground. Damn it. Damn it.

I lost my friend and I don’t know where she is….and I lost Xion. Damn it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

What felt like forever was only minutes.

 I eventually had picked myself and returned to the mansion taking the option of locking myself in the room until I felt the heavy weight on my consciousness disappear. Didn’t have the strength nor the courage to even talk to Riku about what happened at the moment. I had taken off the dark coat and slipped under the covers of the bed, hugging the pillow to my chest, burying my face into it. Light peered even through the dark sheets but I could not face to look at it. All I did was stare into the darkness, staring blankly into the material of the bed before I finally felt my eyes begun heavy. Eventually I ended up dozing off into a deep, dreamless sleep that didn’t seem to satisfy my true need for a good rest.

When I awoke the next morning I felt like I was in more pain than ever before. My body was sore and my mind felt like it was in a complete state of nothingness. I groaned wearily, the back of my throat burning as I coughed hoarsely into my hand. And the sound of that made it seem like I was beginning to get sick. I rubbed the back of my neck, sitting up properly on the bed before throwing the covers off. It was really getting hot in here. How the heck did I survive sleeping under all that last night?!

I sighed lowly, running my hand through my hair to attempt to untangle the knots. Yeah, this is what I get for letting this happening. I should’ve been more careful but I got caught up with seeing Jazmine and the plaguing thoughts of Flare. Jeez, I rubbed my neck roughly as I tried to get the dwelling thoughts out of my head. I grabbed my phone from the desk beside the bed, pushing the D.S to the side having no interests in playing that thing anytime soon. I don’t know if I can bare it anymore. I know I’m close to the end but can I really burden myself to know how it’ll end?

We’ll figure that later I guess.

I flipped open the phone, seeing the time was exactly noon and I shut my eyes, suppressing a groan. I really slept in, I need to get out of this bed. I slipped out of the bed, grabbing hold of my disregarded black coat and swung it over my shoulder before moving across the room to slip into my sneakers. Taking a moment to make sure I had everything, I left the room and walked out into the main hall of the mansion. It was pretty quiet in the mansion causing my eyes to search around. At this point I knew I had to tell Riku….or at least discuss with him what happened. He must’ve known that this happened. I paused, my foot hovering over the next step when I heard the sound of electricity buzzing emitting from the library causing me to look up in the direction.

I blinked a few times in surprise seeing that the door was slightly ajar and the buzzing noise seemed to intensify. I turned around and headed back up the stairs to head to the library, opening the door fully and looking down the stairs towards the Computer Room to see the door was opened. My eyes widen and I stood at the top of the staircase wondering if I should go down or not but the curiosity of finding out what DiZ had been doing there for almost a week or two now was rattling my mind just as much as Xion being taken and whatever was happening to Flare. I blinked a few times then decided to take the first step down and proceeded down the steps. The whirling sound of the monitors became clear as I found myself in the lab, looking exactly the same as it was before. Nothing changed, phew, well that’s a relief. At least DiZ didn’t keel over in here or had a panic attack or something.

Hey…speaking of.

I turned my attention to the side to see DiZ was sitting at the computer, his fingers gliding across the keyboard with precision and urgency. Standing there for a few minutes, hearing nothing but the sound of typing, I was beginning to wonder if DiZ was ever going to notice I came down or I’m apparently that good at sneaking.

Hehehe, maybe I could prove Riku wrong—

“Michelle, I’m giving you a special assignment,” DiZ began causing my brow to arch up in curiosity then my lips quirked down in disappointment. I had to think of something and jinx myself. Riku, I will win….one day. “It’s a recon mission in which I believe only you can handle.” He continued as I tilted my head, crossing my arms under my breasts.

“Only me?”

“Yes, this recon mission involves a new world that recently appeared in the map system I’ve been creating for gummi ship purposes. Unlike the other worlds you have visited over the past few months this one is a bit….different.” DiZ cryptically answered.

A brow arched up, “How is it different?”

“Unlike other worlds, this world doesn’t have an easy access by the means of gummi ship or even the paths that the heartless use. It’s still accessible through the dark portals but in all other cases, it would almost be impossible to get through.” DiZ explained, his fingers gliding across the keyboard’s surface as he typed quick coding into the computer at blinding speeds.

“So….it’s heartless free?” I summed up.

 “Almost. It’s not quite immune to the heartless’s advances but it has quite a barrier against them. Only extremely strong enemies could possible past a barrier such as that.” I blinked a few times and rubbed the back of my neck. This world sounded rather strange. Appearing out of nowhere and being able to hold a barrier to block off gummi-ships and almost block out most heartless?

I scratched my neck, the dark coat sliding off my shoulder till I adjusted it.

“That’s it? Is there anything in specific you had in mind?” I questioned curiously, “Do you even know the name of this world?”

“I do not. Access the world and perhaps you’ll find out soon enough what you have to do” DiZ responded. My eyes widen as I took a step forward, my eyes narrowing. “What the heck does that mean?!”

DiZ turned to look at me, his golden eye narrowing slightly as I could feel my teeth clench. That’s when a chuckle escaped his lips causing me to straighten up, pretty much taken aback that he would even consider laughing. He shook his head slightly, crossing his arms behind his back as he took a step to the side.

“To be more precise Michelle, I want you to find the world’s center,” He explained thoroughly causing my eyes to widen slightly. “The world’s center?” I repeated, tilting my head.

DiZ extended his arm out, clicking on his keyboard when the screen popped a video and revealed a keyhole from Tarzan’s world with Sora and the rest of us standing near it as he held out his keyblade and the light beamed from the tip of his keyblade to the center of the keyhole.

“The keyhole that you and your friends locked in each world is considered to be in the world’s center. I would like you to find it and place this there,” DiZ pulled a small device from the computer and held it up, revealing the device was something similar along the lines of a flashdrive or something along the line.

“But why?” I questioned, my hostility dropping as I relaxed slightly. “Why me? What about Riku?”

“Riku is on a mission at the moment and as I said before this world is different from the other ones you’ve been too…but it’s not foreign to you.” I blinked a few times, not understanding exactly what he was saying. He shifted over to the desk, gingerly clicking at the keyboard to end the video before walking over to me, towering over me as he held his hand out with the device in tow. I looked at it cautiously as DiZ chuckled in amusement.

“It’s nothing dangerous I can assure you. This device will act as a locator and keep the world monitored on my screen.”  I blinked a few times, wondering why DiZ was so particularly interested in this one world but my lips drew to a reluctant line and I held out my palm.

“I feel by the time you get there and reach your destination, you will know what needs to be done.” He moved his hand away from mine allowing me the chance to see the small little device in my hand. So this would be become like a map icon if I were to leave this behind. I suppose that’s kind of useful. Though it still bothered me on why he would even need that in the first place. He didn’t really care for the other worlds except when it involved heartless and sending me out to try and eliminate all of them before Organization XIII can get their hands on them.

“When you’re prepared head into the White Room where Namine is waiting.”

I pocked the device and turned to look back up at DiZ before nodding solemnly and brushed past him to head towards the White Room. Pausing momentarily in the hall, I quickly slipped the black coat on and continued to walk towards the white room, meeting four pods before the room. I stopped in front of the pods that held Donald and Goofy, seeing how peaceful they looked in there. Well…cept Goofy. I laughed lightly, seeing his head pressed against the side of the Pod, a giant bubble forming from his nose as he slept. I smiled softly, looking between the two and patted the sides of the pod quickly before turning on my heel to continue on into the White Room. I entered the room to see Namine was standing directly in front of Sora’s Pod, staring focusing upon it with one of her hands clenched by her side, the other positioned to her chest from what it looks like. I came close to her when she turned her head to look at me, her eyes softening as she smiled wearily at me. I could see it in her eyes she was a bit tired but they were focused, looking somewhat concerned.

“Ready to go?” I opened my mouth slightly before I shut it, looking at the ground. Namine tilted her head slightly when she turned fully to face me. “She’ll be back”

“Hmm?”

“Xion, she’ll be back. Don’t worry, Michelle.” Namine gently rested her hand on my wrist, patting it gently. I glanced down to her before nodding slowly, not bothering to say much. Not much was to say besides. The act happened and nothing could stop the events that were beginning to roll. I had to accept that, however much it was going to hurt me.

“Heh, thanks. Well, another mission!” I smashed my left fist into the palm of my right hand a few times, standing at the entrance of the portal, my feet creating ripples in the darkness. I forced a smile before bringing my arms to my sides. “To a new world I don’t know! All right!”

“No, you do know this world.”

“Eh?” I paused, turning midway as Namine smiled softly. “It’s similar to one you’ve lived in. It’s not exactly the same but it’s close, it’s the one that belongs in our universe.” 

I stared incredulously at Namine, feeling my eyes widening to the point where I felt like they were going to pop out, taken completely aback by that. Was she suggesting what I think she was suggesting. Namine nodded once again, smiling a bit more. Namine knew my story, she’s so far the one who knows about me…my story. Where I really come from. How everyone is from a video game. It still boggles my mind that she believes me. She knows how important this topic is to me. Namine doesn’t lie. I felt my heart skip a few beats as I simply stared at her with thoughts being tossed about. Namine began to form the words in her mouth but it was too late as I spun around and dashed into the darkness. As I ran across the darkness, unable to tell if I was heading in the right direction I kept thinking about those last few seconds with the words forming and expelling into the air.

_"Go."_

Running through the darkness at some point it became slanted, I almost began sliding in the midst of the darkness but managed to keep balance and kept going as fast as my feet can possibly take me. I finally began to see a light forming at the end of my path and I raced forward till I reached the light only for it to dim considerably. Stepping out of the portal, I found myself in a rather dingy, dark tunnel with trash scattered around in the corners and god knows what else was running around here. I hesitated from actually leaving the portal but I could feel that it was about to collapse so I stepped out of the way and allowed the portal to disappear. I blinked a few times in wonder as I gazed down to the floor, old tracks rested in the middle of the tunnel leading all the way towards the end of the tunnel with the light of outside preventing anything to be seen clearly. I blinked a few, only able to hear the faint sound of car horns and the awful smell of lingering smoke in this tunnel.

Okay…I think it’s time we get out of here. Oh god, the smell. The smell.

Slowly I began to head out towards the end of the tunnel with my walking slowly breaking out into a light jog. I finally reached the end and I was greeted with an explosions of sound—car horns, people conversing, the car engines roaring—and immediately my eyes widen, scanning around. Cars whizzed by in front of me as pedestrians brushed around me and continued on their way, either talking on their phones or simply walking.

I didn’t know whether I was smiling at the moment or simply freaking out as I whirled around behind me to see the entrance of the tunnel I had entered from disappeared. I took a step back, completely caught off guard. I felt like I just popped out of Narnia and the way back was gone. I placed my hand on the brick foundation, unable to believe what was really in front of me. I gazed up seeing buildings as tall as you can imagine, the lights reflecting off the windows making it seem brighter than everything. I stared up till I looked to the side seeing at the next building beside this one there was a fire escape I could easily access.

Taking full advantage of it, I began to climb the fire escape before proceeding up the staircase that led to the rooftop. Reaching the top and hoped off the fire escape, I was met with a view I couldn’t possibly imagine seeing again. With tall skyscrapers packed together forming shining towers about a mile away, I knew deep down where I was. I couldn’t believe it though. My chest rose with the feeling of butterflies exploding out as I stared toward the sunlight that reflected off the buildings making the entire city shine brighter than ever before.

This was New York City.


	11. The Lotus's Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! Enjoy everyone!

It wasn’t possible….was it?

Tilting my head upwards to tips of the skyscrapers, recalling all the memories of nearly falling back from trying to get the right shot on my camera. I grinned ecstatically, feeling my heart leap about several times with absolute joy. I knew without a doubt that I was in any other place.  I was here. I was really here in New York City. I placed a hand over my mouth, inhaling deeply, attempting to keep the tears from trickling down. I pressed my back against the brick wall, sliding down to sit on the roof, taking in the entire view. Questions flourished in my mind on how this was all even possible. Honestly, I didn’t think a parallel Earth was going to exist to be honest.

I sighed, brushing my cheeks briefly in order to calm my nerves. I reached down to my pocket, gripping onto the small flashdrive. DiZ…had to have known that this is where I came from if he personally sent me here. Did he learn about where I came from my phone? When he last tinkered with it?

I tossed it in my hand once before placing the device back into my pocket. I didn’t really care honestly at this point why he did it. It meant that I was one step closer to getting…..home. My lips quirked, rubbing my neck as I looked to the city in the distance. I must’ve been in Queens or something. I removed my black coat, deeming it was unnecessary to wear it. I dusted my jeans and shirt before grabbing the dark coat by the sleeves and tied it to my waist. I looked down behind me seeing the coat almost flowed like a cape. Well, at least it’s NYC, nobody is going to give me weird looks. I returned back to the fire escape, managed to find my way down to a subway that would lead me Times Square.

**_ FFW: _ **

Change of plans.

My fingers drummed against my cheeks, my back pressed against the red tiled walls that lined the subways. Reality crashed upon me moments before I even attempted to try and purchase a ticket to the subway. “I don’t have money…” I whispered distraughtly. I had munny, but not MONEY. Dollars bills, yo. It’s sad how I felt rich but back here, I was poor again.

Actually, I haven’t seen money since…well a while. Clearly people in this world still used dollar bills to make purchases and I haven’t seen any indications of munny even existing as a possible currency. Glancing amongst the ground, my brow arched when I saw a silver coin reflect off the ground. So, I did the worse thing that anyone could do.  I started picking up quarters that were dropped around. You’d be surprised on how much you can find within a span of two hours.

With that, I purchased the ticket to board the subway. I sighed and gripped onto the metal pole, feeling the train rattle and the lights flicking. I gazed out the window to see nothing but darkness and the faint drawings of graffiti on the walls as they zipped by in a mashed blur. I was home. Almost. Not exactly. I tapped my chin wondering if I could pop on by. That would be nice, even if my family was…not mine. I knew they were going to be different. I feel like they may see the difference in me as well from their actual daughter.  I hope they might accept me still or else I’m going to have to figure out something from there.

The train started to jolt to a stop and I looked to see the train was passing by 47th Street, basically at Rockefeller Plaza. Not wanting to get left behind, I quickly forced my way through the group of people that were forcing their way through. I patiently forced myself up the stairs, dealing with the claustrophobia that this was bringing me. Finally breaking through, I entered upon the streets, actually relieved to not smell the Subway system anymore. I gazed around a smile breaking out but it quickly dropped and I gazed down the street. I still had a mission to do I slapped my head into my hands, groaning loudly in annoyance. It would help if I had some money though!

“Transaction station! Get your currency changed to dollars here! We take euros, yen, pesos, Gils—”

What?

I stopped on the sidewalk, turning my head to the direction where the sound of Gils came from, finding myself staring at a somewhat made-shift store in the midst of a construction area with a strange, young looking guy at the window of the store. He had long dirty blonde haired that resembled Jamaican braids, he wore an American flag bandanna and he had a white tank top from what I could make out before the rest of his body was cut out from view.

“—munny, anything you got—we can change it!” He finished proudly.

I blinked a few times, staying close to the sidewalk edge but I kept a watchful eye on this man, humming lowly. Was he for real, if he was, I got to check this out. Looking around cautiously on the street, I made my way across it and headed directly towards the small little transaction station, catching the attention of the man as he began to give me a strange look before he grinned once I reached a foot away from the window.

“Well, what can I do for you miss?” The man asked, his voice carrying a southern charm to it.

“You said you can change munny, is it true?” I asked. He blinked, staring at me with a sort of obvious look that just screamed, ‘Well duh,’ so I decided to correct myself.

“I mean the m-u-n-n-y kind of money. Not dollar bills you know. I hope that was the sort of money you were talking about…” My voice began to lower down almost to a mumble at the end as I began to wonder how sure I was that he even said—

“Yeah no, I got what ya meant, miss.” He smiled brightly, his hands gripping onto the table before he pushed himself backwards. He began to wheel to the cabinet that was a few feet behind him. “I just have to see what the transfer rate is, it’s been a while since anyone came with that stuff.” He explained.

“Someone came here with munny before?” I inquired curiously.

He nodded half consciously, pulling open a drawer and his fingers began rummaging through the folders and papers that stuck out. “Yeah, some stranger came here like a month or two ago. Big guy, real big, he looked like he worked for the Italian mafia or something wild like that.” He noted I raised a brow, tilting my head in thought. I don’t think I know anyone like that. He finally pulled out a book, nodding in approval before he pushed against the cabinet to wheel himself back over to the counter and slammed the book down causing me to jump. The man smirked, opening the book and began skimming down through the hand-written stuff and began to flip through pages after pages after pages before finally stopping and grabbed a calculator.

“Okay, if I’m getting this correctly I would need 20 munny to get 1 dollar U.S money if you want to do an exchange.” I froze completely, staring at him as his hazel orbs raised up to meet mine. He was joking right...hehehe, 20 munny for 1 freaking dollar?! That’s insane. I grabbed my cell phone and brought up the calculator to see how much munny I even had.

5000 munny left. That’s it. I rubbed the back of my neck before looking at him.

“How much munny would I need for $200 US?”

He whistled lowly, hitting the buttons quickly before looking back up to me. “About 4,000 munny—do you even have that kind of cash on you?” Before he could finish, munny slid through the slotted plate and ended up on his side causing his eyes to widen and he leaned forward. The guy’s lips quirked downwards then he gazed up to me. “Got any I.D?”

Aww don’t tell me.

“Uhhhhhh…” I trailed, rubbing my arms uncomfortably. The guy scoffed in a chuckle, shaking his head. “No big deal, I got ya,” He took in the munny and wheeled across the room to a vault before wheeling over to an old computer. “So you’re from another world I reckon?” He asked. I smirked, crossing my arms across my chest.

“Nope” I mused. The guy stopped typing for a minute, turning his head over with a raised brow.

“You’re not?” He repeated.

“Nope.”

“Then where you’re from? How the heck did you get your hands on this much munny?” He questioned, staring at me in disbelief.

“Northeast,” I answered cryptically.  The man fully turned to face me, giving a toothy smile.

“Heeeeey, all right, you’re from here! Are you a Jersey girl, Bostonian, Nutmegger, or a New Yorker like mwah~” He rested his hands on his chest, flashing a smile causing me to laugh and shake my head.

“A proud nutmegger at your service” I answered with a half bow. The man clapped his hands, flashing a smile when it suddenly dropped.

“Well I’ll be damned, no wonder you have all that munny then!” He assumed. I blinked, tilting my head. I didn’t even explain it to him yet. “You’re stuck in this damn situation too!”

I blinked a few times, “What? A situation?”

The man looked at me incredulously before leaning forward. “You know—” He lowered his voice down to a whisper, “—that whole thing with the darkness.” My eyes widen instantly and my body froze where I was standing. What….other people were involved too?! THIS GUY WAS INVOLVED?!

“Huh?!” I exclaimed loudly. The guy nodded vigorously with his forehead pressed against the glass.

“You know! I mean shit, waking up one day in another world was freaky as hell, then next having to deal with some psycho chick talking about universal order or some crap like that, then next day waking up to a world that’s like yours but it really isn’t!” He rambled, shaking his head as my eyes widen and I felt my heart drop. Hoshi bothered more people beside myself!?

“You too!?”

“Hell yes!” He exclaimed loudly, slamming a hand against the counter.

“That crazy chick—what was her name, Hoshi, Erica, something like that—tried telling me I should just stay put, keep sleeping or some weird ass thing like that but maaaan she gave me the creepiest vibes, didn’t listen to a hell she said. And now I’m here….hence why I opened this here fine establishment!” He finished with his arms wide open, a goofy smile on his face then patted his hand on the counter.

“The only ones who come here I’ve noticed so far are lost tourists that seem like they can’t read a damn thing in English and expect me to know Chinese or German OR people like you and me, ones who know the truth and know that something freaking weird happened about a year ago!” As sad as this was probably sounding more like a conspiracy theory, it’s stuff that actually happened. I stared at him in disbelief with my mouth hanging open. I was completely dumbfounded. The guy nodded slowly as he folded his arms upon each other.

“Only bad part about meeting these other people is hearing some real downer of stories,” The man admitted, humming thoughtfully “Like this one time, a lady I knew back home, sweet woman, early thirties, ended up here and we chatted. Found out that when she was a teen, she had a baby and decided to give it up. But once she came to this world and went home, she found out that her other-self KEPT that child. She sobbed for a good hour to me about the whole mistake she had made in our world.”

_You would have to live here, with a family and friends that are not your own but will remind you painfully of them._

Juliana’s words rang in my head. Man, people you don’t even know will somehow know you….you’re out in a real strange loop. It’s like a freaking paradox. So Juliana was right….I would return to a world that was like mine but not exactly. He rubbed his neck, sighing heavily.

“What about your story?” I asked curiously. The guy looked up at me before he snorted loudly.

“Nothing really changed, the only difference was that…apparently I was engaged to this gal….it ended like a month after I came here.” He told me, waving a hand dismissingly. He looked up to me.

“So what’s your story missy? What life changes have there been for you?”

“Don’t have one yet.” I retorted casually. He stared at me for a long minute, blinking slowly. It seemed like he didn’t believe what I said before his brows furrowed together.

“You haven’t been home yet—did you just get back here?” He questioned.  I scoffed softly, nodding.

“Oh yeah, you wouldn’t believe it.” I replied. The man stared at me before nodding and opened his drawer. He pulled the money from below, counting briefly in his hands before he slid them through the opened section of the glass.

“All right kid, here’s ten Jacksons.” I stared at the cash, rather alarmed to find that this actually worked. It was strange to have this kind of money again. Yet strangely satisfying.

“Can’t give you good ol Ben, people look at you oddly at why you have that much.”  He pulled out a card and slipped it to me. I lifted it up, my eyes widening in disbelief and I looked back at him in shock. A Metro North card! I can only imagine he had filled it with some amount of rides that I can use!

“Whenever they fix the train stations up so you can get tickets that may come in handy.” I stared at the card and grinned ecstatically. “Thank you!”

“No problem, you’re a nice kid, stop on by if you ever come back to NY again, the names Douglas by the way,” He introduced.

“Mine’s Michelle, thanks again for everything!” I bowed my head, grinning at the luck I managed to find myself getting into. Douglas seemed like a nice enough guy to help me out in my time of need. Yet before I could fully turn away to start my search again, there was a tap echoing from his side of the glass. I turned once more, raising a brow as he waved me to return over.

“One more word of advice!” Douglas insisted, his demeanor changing as his eyes narrowed and he stared intently. “Do not go downtown at night by yourself. Especially if you don’t know where you’re going.” He warned gravely.

“Why not?” I pressed.

“Ever since coming here, weird shit has been happening. You hear a lot of things on the streets…” His voice was cut off when a woman screamed loudly. Douglas immediately stood from his chair when the scream was followed by a collection of other screeches. I turned, surprised to find many pedestrians scattering into the street, tripping and nearly causing cars to crash into each other. Wait, why were they running—oh no.

The ground shook violently when a paw smashed forward onto a suv, crushing the hood and essentially the entire car. My mouth dropped as my eyes trailed up the paw, finding the owner to be a large heartless. Its dark tendrils whirled around it’s face, the colors changing from red, blue, green, yet those intense, blood eyes continued to scan around the street. It seemed like a giant wolf in comparison, a giant wolf prowling the streets of New York. Oh god.

 “HOLY SHIT! THOSE THINGS ARE HERE?! AW SHI—Kid?! KID!” Douglas’s shouts rang in the air when I bolted forward. I threw my hand out, the keyblade brandishing to my grasp as my reflection emerged onto the heartless’s orbs. I leapt up, slamming the head of the beast causing it to howl loudly. I landed back on the ground only to quickly hurl myself to the side, the crushed car being knocked out of the way to my path. I gazed up only to have this heartless swing its tail at me, slamming it against my side.  I hurled backwards in the air, rolling against the concrete and groaned.

Damn, that heartless….has one hell of a punch. No wonder DiZ warned me about this world. The heartless here are strong.

I gripped my side, picking myself up to find this heartless charging directly at me as I swung the blade around, blocking the wolf like heartless before I slashed at it causing it to growl ferociously. It slashed its claws at me doing a strange spin as each hit against the keyblade grew stronger and stronger.

What the heck!

“Fira!” I threw my hand out forward….nothing happened. WHAT?!

Suddenly the heartless smashed its arm against me hurling me back into the air and onto the ground again as I rolled to a stop. Before I could even attempt to get up, hot air blew down my neck as growls rang in my ear drums. Oh shit—

Bullets suddenly fired in rapid successions as the heartless cried in pain, shaking its body before turning its attention away from me and began running. I lifted my head up to see the heartless run down the street when suddenly someone rushed past me in hot pursuit.

“Michelle! Kid, you’re all right!” Douglas gripped my shoulder, shaking me as I nodded, wiping my mouth and picking myself hastily up from the ground. My attention darted to where the heartless was escaping to. Then it landed on the lone person charging after it. What the heck.

“I gotta go!”

“Kid, are you insane?!” Douglas demanded. I spun around, gritting my teeth. Ugh, now I had to go out and explain about this to people.

“It’s my job Douglas, hopefully we’ll see each other again soon!” I expressed hastily. Douglas seemed reluctant on letting me go, his grip on my shoulder firm. I scoffed, knocking his hand away with a shove of my arms. Whirling around, I bolted past the crushed cars and terrified crowds, hearing Douglas shout in the distance. I needed to keep going, questions forming quickly. My eyes narrowed as I kept a locked eye on this person. I wasn’t going to lose sight of you anytime soon.

Gun fire rang several times as screams continued to echo in the big city of NYC.

My arms swung wildly by my sides as I continued to sprint after the heartless, trying to focus on breathing rather than the loud commotions. For the past ten minutes all I’ve been doing is running after this heartless and after the guy that was chasing it as well. He was ahead of me by a good 20 feet with the heartless in front of him by the same amount of space. The heartless continued to run at an alarming speed, blazing through the streets as pedestrians screamed in terror before they rushed to get out of the way. I couldn’t believe this was happening still, being in New York City and having a giant heartless plowing down the streets. Jeez, it’s ALWAYS NYC that has to have something insane like this going on.

I leapt around a bench in the way, keeping locked view of that heartless but it was gaining speed and I was afraid I was going to lose that thing soon. At least if I lost the heartless I would still be able to keep an eye on this guy. The guy dressed in black was in hot pursuit after the heartless as he was able to swerve and push past the crowd of people that was running in his direction. His concentration never wavered as he bolted down the streets, occasionally using abandoned cars as a lift before landing back on the street to run after the heartless.

How the heck was he able to do that and not break from the kind of sprint he was doing?!

I could already feel my muscles begin to strain as my chest rose up and down but I had to endure to keep up with this guy. If I lost him then I lose the chance to take down this heartless. I clenched my teeth and continued sprinting. The guy continued to shoot whenever he had the chance at the heartless and I could hear the heartless howl in displeasure every time. I held out a hand, my eyes narrowing in annoyance.

“Thunder!” I snapped but nothing came causing me to groan. Why couldn’t I use my magic?!

I sighed, shaking my head as I continued running. At this point we were nearing the river part of the district and there was so sign that this heartless was going to slow down. I could hear the guy fire once again with the heartless shrieking.  It suddenly slammed its tail against the side and smashed a parked car into the air.

“Heads up!” The male suddenly called out before ducking lowly to the ground when the car crashed behind him, rolling. My eyes widen as I rolled out towards the sidewalk to avoid the car that continued to roll down the streets. I snapped my attention over to the car seeing smash against the concrete, the car alarm finally coming to a dying stop. I blinked wildly a few times before resuming the run after the two down the street.

How long could this possibly go for?!

The heartless seemed to be attempting to create a blockage with the cars, hurling several into the streets and causing many oncoming ones to collide into each other. I groaned in displeasure, maneuvering around the fallen cars. Unlike me, that guy….what the heck….he was just sliding over each vehicle or running atop of them before landing on the ground without pause. I wish…I wish I could be able to do that, my life would’ve been so much easier if I was able to dodge and keep moving like that. What kind of training did this guy get!?

The heartless howled loudly, suddenly stopping and turned it’s body to the side when it swung its tail around to smash an incoming car up into the air—whoa whoa whoa WHOA!

I skidded to a stop, seeing the car hurl up in the air had people screaming in terror from inside the car. My eyes widen before looking forward to see the heartless was heading down another street with the guy following close behind, gazing over towards my area before focusing ahead and disappearing behind a building. I clenched my teeth and sighed in annoyance. There was going to be no way I could catch up with them at this point, I need to help these people.

“Blizzard!” I held a hand up but only a few flurries of snow appeared causing my eyes to widen. Okay that didn’t work. Oh great, gotta think fast.

I looked around quickly and focused when I saw a hydrate at the edge of the upcoming sidewalk. I quickly turned and slammed the keyblade against the hydrate near me, water spurting up into the air. Sticking the keyblade in the water, the water began to turn in the direction of the car, beginning to hose it down when I slammed a hand to the side of the hydrant. This better work this time!

“Blizzaga!” I shouted.

This time the ice formed, freezing the hydrant with the water quickly following and froze the vehicle in the air. The people in the car stopped screaming, eyes staring at me in disbelief while I stared back at them. What were they waiting for?!

“Well?! Get out while you can! That ice isn’t going to hold long you know!” I shouted.

The woman and man in the vehicle nodded, swinging open their doors and carefully managed to slide down the ice to the ground below. I nodded once I made sure they were safe before bolting down the street. I rounded to the corner where the guy and the heartless disappeared to only to find no traces of them. My eyes scanned around, seeing people near the buildings with hands to their chest or looked rather shocked still. I growled, hitting my fist against the brick building to my side. Damn it, I lost them.

I sighed in frustration, placing my palm against my cheek and rubbed it roughly.  All right, all right. I can’t let this hold me back. I have to keep going and see if I can continue following this path of destruction. I slapped my cheeks gently, taking in a few deep breathes before taking it a bit slower and jogged down the street. I whistled lowly while I scanned the area for any signs where the heartless went.  A few cars were totaled on the side of the road and I could hear a lot of angry complaints from those car owners who now stood nearby there wrecked vehicles.

“What the hell man! I just polished it this morning— WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!”

“Didn’t you see it, Marius!? A freaking huge thing was running around and smashed the cars like it was the monster truck derby.”

“Aww shit, and I had to pay the bill next week too.”

“Well whaddya want to do about it? You want to take it up with that thing that totaled it? Go on ahead, it went down the street towards the area where that ol’ building is supposed to be torn down.”

Their voices dwindled in the background as I began to jog a little faster with my eyes narrowing. Okay that was actually pretty helpful. Maybe I’ll be able to catch them after all. I continued heading down the street using the crushed cars as guidance in the unfamiliar area. Occasionally I would run into a few people still running but most stayed out of my way this time. Heading deeper into the district I could see there less and less cars were totaled causing my eyes to scan the area.  Not much was around here. It was an industrial area with more than a few abandoned buildings surrounding it. No more cars had been crushed and there was no real sign of where they could’ve went next. I stopped jogging and spun around to scan the area. I ran a hand through my hair while I exhaled roughly. Perhaps I have to let this go.

A loud explosion rang in my ears and I immediately turned seeing a line of smoke heading in the air with a few men dressed in construction uniforms running away from the area. I rushed under the railing, gazing down to see an old building that looked like it was supposed to be tore down was the source of the smoke. A howl echoed from the building as the sound of the gunfire rang. My eyes widen, shaking my head slowly in disbelief.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I growled, my hands fumbling to untie the dark coat from my waist to toss to the ground.  

Hearing the rumble and commotion going on, I could only guess that this building was going to be coming down soon and with my luck that the heartless and this guy was inside it. I roughly tugged the hood over my head before reluctantly entering the building. My keyblade flashed into hand as I cautiously walked about the entrance floor, old machinery laying destroyed on the ground or covered in cob webs. Dust shook from the ceiling above causing me to look up wearily before staring up forward. A part of the wall that separated one part of the building from the other was torn down and I could hear the rapid succession of the bullets followed by the heartless.

I snapped my fingers, muttering fire several times to make sure that this time the spells wouldn’t fail me. They were weak when they came to hand but each time grew a bit stronger than the last. Well that was going to have to do. I was so going to run out of magic. I could feel it in my bones.

The building rattled violently as a pole suddenly tumbled towards the ground causing me to jolt up straight and I sprinted forward towards the broken wall. I peered through to see the creature howl, swiping its tail against another the pillar as the guy dove to the ground, avoiding the shattering pieces of concrete that flew in the air. He rolled and picked himself up rather quickly but I could see he was getting worn out. His chest rose up and down as he lifted his guns up, taking a bold stand as his dark eyes focused. Scratches were all over his cheeks and a streams of blood trailed down his hands to drip slowly from his gun. I tilted my head and focused closer to his face. Wait, he looks my age! 

How was that possible….everything he did earlier, it was so trained, precise, efficient. Unless he was an Olympic medalists in the training, he was trained to kill. I could see it with the way he held that gun and how he looked at his target.

 Suddenly a pillar was crushed on the other side, a boulder being hurled into the direction of the guy.  He swiftly moved out the way and let loose several rounds, each hitting precisely against the weak spot of the heartless as it howled. It growled viciously and charged forward, snapping at the male as the guy barely missed the teeth snapping at him, his movements too swift. I held my keyblade up seeing the heartless was pushing the guy in a corner when my eyes narrowed. I hurled the keyblade into the air and watched as it slammed against the head of the beast. It slowly began turning to my direction and I grabbed hold of the returning keyblade, beckoning the heartless over. All right, now it’s my turn to take you down.

The heartless charged at me, it’s mouth snapping angrily and I flipped the keyblade for a better grip before swinging it forward, blocking the heartless from snapping it’s fangs at me. My eyes narrowed, holding tightly to the handle as the beast latched tightly onto the blade and began tugging it back viciously. It’s going to be just like Beast’s Castle with those annoying dogs. The heartless crouched, eyes dilating with the full intent of defeating me and claiming another heart.

Not gonna happen.

“C’mon Thundara!”

A surge of electricity rippled from the blade and fully electrocuted the mouth of the heartless causing it to release hold of the keyblade. I uppercut the heartless before brutally beginning to combat against it, slamming against the head several times. I didn’t miss a beat as I rolled to the ground, avoiding the chomp and the beast slamming its head against the ground to try and crush me. Okay, that was clear to tell that it was getting angry. I rushed forward, catching one of the dogs as it latched onto my keyblade, shaking its body as it tried pulling my keyblade away from my grip.

“We're not playing tug of war here,” I grunted, shaking the keyblade harder to try and get rid of the hold this heartless had on it. If the heartless didn’t let go I would probably go flying the next minute.

The heartless crouched forward, growling when suddenly two bullets fired at its side causing the heartless to snap its attention over to the male who stood daringly on the other side. The heartless snapped its attention from me to the male when it turned back at me to me. It charged forward and suddenly spun around wildly, the tail slamming against a beam of the building and unhinged it from the bolting. The beam swung out into the air hurling towards the male’s direction but he managed to dodge. The building shook violently as the heartless began tearing beams after beams down, part of the building structure beginning to fail itself already. My eyes darted around and I charged directly at the heartless but it swiftly avoided my incoming attacks and spun quickly slamming its tail against me. “Gah!” I flew backwards in the air before hitting the ground, hearing instantly bullets being fired and the heartless howling in anger.

I picked myself from the ground to look over to see the heartless hurl a boulder towards the male as he managed to dodge but he was suddenly taken down when a beam toppled over from behind. My eyes widen, taken completely by surprise that he was suddenly taken down when I turned my attention to the heartless. All right you’re done for.

“Thundaga!” The electricity radiated violently in the air as the heartless was hit with the jolt of energy, howling loudly. I charged forward and ran atop of a fallen boulder before leaping up into the air with my keyblade extended out. “Take this!”

I sliced down landing on the other end while the heartless remained motionless before falling on its knees. The heartless howled weakly before falling over to fade into dark ashes as a large heart escaped from its body and into the air before vanishing. I huffed, wiping my mouth before a boulder fell before me causing me to jump. Oh right the building is falling apart. I gazed around before seeing the open exit of a pair of doors nearby when I also caught notice of the guy, his left leg still crushed under the beam that had fallen.

“Oh shit” I rushed over to him and kneeled down before him to examine the exact situation. His right thigh had been pinned and followed along to the other side of his legs.

“Hey, you’re still okay right?!” I asked loudly when his eyes darted up to me. They were half opened but they were extremely dilated.

“What—what are you doing here?” He demanded suddenly. I pursued my lips before grabbing hold of the beam.

“I’m going to try and help you!” Sucking in a deep breath as I began to lift but he clenched his teeth, gasping sharply. “Not helping!” My eyes narrowed dangerously, clenching my teeth tightly.

“I’m trying! I’m not Wonder Woman, you know!” I adjusted my arms around the beam, crouching up and began to lift. This is heavy, this is heavy, this is heavy!!!

I clenched my teeth tightly as my back strained but I could feel the beam was beginning to lift off the ground. Sweat trailed down my cheek as I settled onto my knees, heaving the beam slowly. My back was beginning to scream as it raised closely to my knee, the guy underneath pushing his hands against the beam to assist pushing it up.  I began to slowly step to the side and the beam moved from his legs allowing him to pull himself away.

“You’re out?” I questioned in a strained voice, my eyes shut tightly as I tried to ignore my muscles screaming from the stress and weight.

“Drop it!” He responded and immediately I dropped the beam, hunching over as my arms became limp by my sides, throbbing. Ow, ow, ow.

I exhaled deeply then looked up to see the male gripping his leg, his eyes darting towards the ceiling. The room rumbled once more and I snapped my attention around. We needed to get out of here. The male was beginning to get up when his left knee buckled. He swore lowly to himself, his hand gripping his leg tightly as my eyes widen in realization. He wasn’t going to be able to run out of here. I growled lowly as I stalked towards him then grabbed his arm, instantly feeling him tense up and shot his attention at me.

“What are you—?”

“Just move!” I snapped at him, swinging his arm around my neck and wrapped my other arm around his waist to hoist him up. I could hear him clench his teeth but he didn’t protest and I took that as a sign to get the hell out of here. I lead the way, hearing the other side of the building begin to collapse down only encouraging me to run faster out of the building. I didn’t even stop when we got outside and rushed over to the edge of the river when I heard the loud rumble of the building falling apart then complete silence.

I stared over at the direction of the building seeing a cloud of dust to where the old building was before turning, taking a few more pain steps before I finally fell over on my knees, unable to hold him up for any longer. I let go of him before falling flat into the sand, groaning loudly in pain. Never again, never again, I don’t think I’m cut out to do rescue missions like that. I’m going to leave that stuff to the firemen and policemen that actually get paid to do that. I coughed hoarsely and rolled over on my side to face the guy. Whoops. I kind of just dropped him there too. I scrunched my eyes together before extending my arm out to his shoulder, shaking it gently.

“Hey, you’re all right?” I asked.

When I didn’t get a response my eyes narrowed and I sat up, shaking his shoulder roughly. When that didn’t work, I slapped his cheek momentarily to receive a low groan. I relaxed immediately seeing his eyes were barely open, blinking rapidly in pain. Oh jeez, he was barely conscious.

 “Hey, don’t do this now—c’mon—and you knocked out on me.” I blew a stray away bang out of my face. He was out big time, he could barely keep his eyes open any longer before they shut and his head fell back against the sandy ground. “Great”

I rubbed my forehead before gazing down to him again, studying his face. He was my age…at least 15 or 16 at most. He looked almost peaceful in his knocked out state but his face twisted in pain, his hand unconsciously gripping the fabric of his shirt before relaxing. I gazed down, seeing a darken blotch surrounding the area where his hand rested and my eyes widen. He really did take a beating with this heartless. He got another injury there too. My eyes softened and I sighed and held out my hand. Please, please work.

“Curaga,” the emerald light glowed amongst his body, the cuts slowly fading away from his face and wrists and I lifted his shirt up to see the injury on his waist beginning to heal as well. I sucked in a deep breathe, settling his shirt back and rubbed my temple. I felt so drained at this point, it was sad. At this point, I would’ve been fine but after attempting to use all that magic, I felt absolutely wiped out.

“Whelp, there goes the rest of my magic.” I regarded.  

Should I leave him like this…could I even leave him like this?

I still had a mission to do and it was probably noon by now with the sun up in the sky. I gazed over towards the setting sun, momentarily mesmerized by it. Although I loved Twilight Town and all, I could never get over how beautiful our sky was, the ever changing sky.  I missed it, so much.

“Nero!” Nero!”

“What the he—Nero! Where are you?”

I turned around swiftly, looking to the street above, finding the voices were echoing from the direction where the sight crashed. Wait. I gazed over to the male beside me and raised a brow. Was it—that they were looking for him?

“I’m guessing you’re Nero” I murmured.

I propped myself up from the ground turning back to see the larger of the two looking over my direction. I immediately avoided the attention, hastily hurrying to grab hold of my discarded Organization coat. I swung open the coat, hurling the hood over my head as I heard someone shout for me to stop. I didn’t even hesitate to start running down the shore, feeling the concrete mix along the sand and I rejoined society once again.

**_ FFW:: _ **

Now I was lost.

I tapped my fingers against the counter, the bowl of dumplings laid empty as I stared at the chefs by the griddle stove, their hands maneuvering blindingly around sauces and pots. Fire spurted up in the air as they moved the wok over the flames. Squeezing a bottle, another burst of fire sprayed behind, ingredients being tossed. The smell was absolutely enticing and honestly I could go for some more food but that would’ve been too much. I think I had too much moo shu pork to satisfy my taste buds.

I spent most of the time walking around within the crowd, trying to find my way around to see where the world center could be in. I went around asking people where they thought the heart of New York was. It was laughed off by some, the others taking the question a little too literally, and others actually giving me the answer. Popular ones were Chinatown, Little Italy, the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center memorial site, JFK and someone had mentioned Grand Central Station. Yet, for some reason, they said it was closed along with JFK. Apparently New York City has been in this weird….lock-out from other states. No one has really noticed but those who took the trains daily knew something was wrong. I rested my hands underneath my chin, humming lowly.

Was this world disconnected from the rest of it? That’s why they couldn’t leave New York City?

It would explain why both JFK and Grand Central were closed. Hmm, I can only wonder.

“Miss, you done or wha?” The cashier demanded harshly causing me to sit up straight in the seat. He waved over to a sign and began blabbing in a mixed broken English and Chinese towards a sign— (It was written in Chinese, how he expected me to read it!?)—but I understood what he was getting at. I rolled my eyes lightly before standing up.

 “Oh right, I’m leaving, I already paid so you’re good.” I declared and began stalking away down into the streets. The lanterns and the still opened businesses provided the light to walk back home as some of the street lights were broken.

At this point I decided to walk around in the dark coat. I knew for a fact that people tended to avoid me when wearing this and it worked, mostly everyone did. Heh, maybe they were scared that I would probably pull out a knife or something. Heh. I shook my head and continued down the emptying street, passing by a few merchants that tried convincing me to buy stuff. I shook my head most of the time, using a jibber-jabber language I made up when I was little. I continued down the streets when I found myself beginning to get more and more lost. Was I going down a street anymore or was it an alleyway?

 I couldn’t tell. Freak, I should’ve listened to Douglas. I should’ve. Damn it. Why didn’t I ask him for his cell phone number?! Gah!

I groaned lightly, spinning around in the alleyway before I continued stomping forward. Signs were left on the walls with missing persons or advertisements. I stopped walking momentarily, looking at the collected voices of young women, young men, and some children that remained missing over the years. It’s sad, some of these were recent too, did they disappear during the whole thing with Hoshi?

I stared at some specific faces, seeing one of the younger women was a college student. Her hair was up with a bang swept over her button nose, she was smiling brightly in the picture. She seemed like she had such a bright future and she had a beautiful face too. Ugh….

I rubbed my neck and turned slowly to continue making my way down the dark alleyway. Now…I wonder how I can get of this place. Before I could really ponder on it, the sound of chimes rang gently nearby and I gazed to the side to see a very young woman attending to a cart with the chimes blowing gently in the wind. She wore a white dress with red outlining, gazing around as she attempted to lift the cart but then she caught sight of me.

“S-sir, s-s-sir, can you help me?” The woman asked pleadingly, her s’s sounding a bit funny. Hmm, she sounded like she had a lisp. Seems like she had trouble saying her S’s.

I stopped walking for a moment before going over, gripping onto the handle and heaved up. She quickly bent down, adjusting the wheel of the cart till it clicked into place and she smiled. I placed her cart back on the ground, moving the cart front and back to make sure the wheels would stay in place.

“Thank you, can I offer you s-something?” She asked kindly. I shook my head, smiling lightly while she opened her cart.

“Would you be interes-sted in some merchandis-se? I would gladly give it to you at a cheaper price s-since you helped me with my cart.” The woman insisted, offering a friendly smile. The smile I had was beginning to wear as I chuckled nervously. I waved my hand in rejection before began heading down the street again. Although she seemed nice and all….that was the first warning on not trusting anyone here.  They would try to swindle me out of the money I had. Those who tried selling you stuff you have to ignore. It was also kind of getting creepy on how insistent she was.

 Suddenly a felt a hand grip my arm and I turned hastily to see it was the same woman.

“Oh s-sir, pleassse don’t go yet. I have s-some valuable merchandise I’m s-sure you would be very interessssted in.” The woman’s grip tightened and I really was beginning to get concerned. Okay, does she not understand what no means?

“I’m s-sure there’s s-something I can interessst you in…” She pressed, her arm slowly moving upwards to my shoulder, caressing my shoulder to my neck. I immediately backed away, shoving her arm off as my hood fell from my head.

 “I said no already, please, just leave me alone.” I injected boldly. The woman gasped, retracting her arm back as she stared at me with wide eyes. I stared at her before slowly averting my eyes away and towards the closest street light. Okay, that was really freaky. Seducing was not going to work anytime soon.

 “Oh misssss, I’m terribly s-sorry for the confus-sion.” The woman apologized, and I turned around to find her smiling. The lantern above us swayed in the wind and the light in the area brightened and I was suddenly able to see her clearly. Her arms….they were scaled. I felt myself pale as I began to notice the detail suddenly becoming all the more apparent. She had scales around her shoulders, the ends of her dress where her ankles were. Her smile never faded yet when she opened her eyes, they were pupils, they were slits. She smiled widely, revealing her teeth were thinned— she has fangs, extremely thin and deadly looking.

Oh……my……God.

My body shook as I took several steps back from the woman. The woman grimaced, crossing her arms with her nails extending to form into deadly talons. “Oh, you’re a pretty, pretty girl after all. You know that, right?” She questioned with her head tilted. It seemed almost insane, but I thought back to the posters. Of all those girls that been kidnapped. How she looked like one of the girls from the picture—no, she couldn’t have—!!

“I wouldn’t mind taking your s-skin.” She hissed.

At that moment my body went absolutely cold. If that wasn’t a sign to fucking run away, I don’t know what was. The woman stalked forward slowly and honestly my heart dropped to the bit of my stomach. This was real—even from heartless and nobodies—this snake lady—was about to eat me.

I turned and immediately bolted for it, leaping over the broken carriage with my adrenaline kicking into the highest gear possible. I shoved against a crate that rested upon a few boxes to hopefully use that as a blockage to slow her down. I turned my head to look over my shoulder to see she managed to somehow get over that blockage causing a loud gasp to escape from my mouth and I faced forward to continue sprinting away. I entered into a more populated area of Chinatown but I didn’t want to stop. If I was right then they wouldn’t want to see this woman right now, whatever the heck she was anyways. I swallowed roughly and rounded into another alleyway hoping to have lost her in the minor crowd—

“Not ssoo fassst!” I suddenly felt something coil around my ankle, hurling me down to the ground and literally drag me backwards even though I dug my fingers into the ground. I was then lifted into the air and hanged upside down when my eyes widen in horror to see those slits eyes staring directly at me, the woman’s fangs showing as she made a twisted sort of smile.

“Oh yesss, new ssskin and a meal,” The woman’s tongue slithered out, tugging her tail to reel me in. I clenched my teeth and grabbed hold of the tail with both hands. I might have been drained still but there was still some sort of juice in me!

“FIRA!” The flames ignited without a hitch this time and the woman screamed as the tail loosened the grip on me and I fell to the ground. I groaned slightly, turning to see the flames burn against her skin and clothes. The skin peeled off in the fire to reveal the scaled mass underneath, the tail whipping out to remove the enflamed skin casing. My eyes casted off to the burning pile of flesh, covering my nose from the horrible stench.

I stumbled to a stand and began to run when I heard the woman snarl loudly, “You’ll pay for that!!”

Her talons extended and she screeched, slashing forward as I immediately ducked, launching myself back to begin running away. I sprinted down the alleyway, leaping over boxes and maneuvering my way pasts carts. Where the heck was everyone?! There was no one around. Suddenly something slammed against my back and I tripped, falling to the side as I saw a cart roll over and fall to the ground, all the contents falling out. A slow chime caused my eyes to widen and I attempted to get back up when something began coiling around my legs and I gazed down to see it was the snake lady’s tail. Her tail wrapped tightly around my arms to the point where I could barely feel them anymore. They felt like they were ready to break off at any point. I struggled to break free but then she flipped me over, her talon like nails digging into my shoulders.

“Ssssh. S-stop with your ssssstruggling, I don’t want to deal with any injuriesss once I’m done with you,” She hissed loudly. I wriggled aggressively only for her mouth to unhinge, the fangs extended out. My eyes widen in horror. I’m going to die, I’m going to die. Oh my god. I didn’t know if snakes were sensitive to anything but I shut my eyes and let loose one hell of a bloody horror movie scream. The snake woman began to reel back, ready to attack when—BANG.

She screamed, reeling back as dark blood began seeping from her chest. I silenced instantly, gasping at the sight and struggled greatly but she still had her grip on me. She moved a hand over the wound before hissing and staring straight ahead. I attempted to look behind but I had to focus back on her as she gazed down at me, her fangs extended out again. The next 15 seconds ended up becoming a blur to me. She came inches to my neck when another gun fire rang and she whipped back followed by two more gunshots echoed before it all became quiet. The tail wrapping around me suddenly loosened and I found the space to breathe. I quickly pulled myself away from the bloody mess and kept scuffling till my back hit the wall. I pressed a hand to my neck, feeling the wet liquid of my blood.  She nicked me…..she was that close to killing me. She could’ve killed me and she was more than ready to.

But here I am…..a bit injured but I’m alive.

I blinked rapidly finding my attention being drawn to the side to see…..no way. It was him. The guy from earlier…what was his name….Nero?

His placed his gun into the holster before walking over to the snake woman’s direction. The woman’s body began to disintegrate into black ash with the skeleton remaining behind before turning into nothing more than a pile of dust. My god. The next second I saw he was walking towards me and I honestly didn’t know what to do. He just killed her like that. I simply sat there, unable to move after all that just happened when he bent down on one knee. He had bandages wrapped on his knuckles and there was one on his cheek too. He changed his clothes too, now supporting a white t-shirt with dark blue jeans and the same black jacket. His dark hair was cut off a bit below his ears and his eyes….wait….weren’t they black before?!

I took a double take, focusing intently at his eyes. They were blue….a bright blue that could be comparable to Sora’s or Cloud’s. “Are—okay?” He asked causing me to blink.

“Y-Y-Yeah. I think,” I trailed off, gazing down to my gloved hand to see the small splotches of blood. “She nicked me but I’ll li—” I suddenly stopped midway when I felt a horrible flip in my stomach. My vision suddenly blurred and I was beginning to feel dizzy. I felt him grab my arm hastily before asking something but it sounded incredibly muffled and I shook my head, suddenly fumbling to unzip the top of the dark coat.  slipped my arms out of the sleeves and pulled the top down and gazed down to see my shirt underneath was getting a good coating of blood where it looks like I didn’t just get nicked…I did get bit by her. My eyes widen and I could feel my world begin to turn as saw the patch of blood on my neck.

“Scratch that. I’m not okay right now.” I changed before I suddenly felt I was being swung around and around, my stomach whirling as I felt like I was about to get sick. “Hey—damn—venom—stay still—”

Venom, oh right, snakes had venom and sometimes can be deadly. Right. My luck. At this point I just let my body fall to the side and shut my eyes allowing the darkness to take me in.


	12. For Those Who Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter??? 
> 
> Huzzah????

[Day ???]

[POV Change]

“All right, now that’s what I’m talking about.” Flames whirled alive from the assassin’s grip, vanishing his trusty chakrams. He gazed down at the fallen heartless in front of him, watching as the large pink heart floated up into the air and the heartless disappeared into black ashes. Axel smirked in satisfaction, tilting his head slightly to the side.

“Guess that concludes this mission.” Axel remarked coolly.

Expecting to hear a response, he was surprised he didn’t get a snarky remark thrown at him yet. He turned around, scanning the area when he found his partner staring blankly to the spot where the heartless had fallen. The emerald eyes narrowed, his lips pressing against one another. He placed his hands on hips as he turned to face her fully.

“Heeeeellllllllooooo, earth to Flare. You all right over there, shorty?” He called out.

Flare jumped in place, the haze in her eyes finally clearing, dilating and becoming aware. Abruptly her head snapped around before her gaze landed on Axel, her shoulders slumping and a heavy exhale escaped from her lips. Her lips quirked in annoyance from the comment, rolling her eyes now as she faced him.

“I’m fine. Thanks for the concern hotshot” She smirked causing him to roll his eyes. There’s the response he was anticipating. Slowly though, his eyes darted back to her momentarily, his eyes narrowing.

Flare has been acting different.

Although he played along with what she said had happened, he has begun to notice Flare’s strange changes. That usual façade that once irritated him to no end was slowly cracking. He has seen it change once or twice before in battle. Flare was beginning to hesitate more than ever now in battles and she was beginning to restrict herself from using magic. It was like as the battles became harder and she became more irritated in a fight, the more ferocious and unpredictable her attacks would become. Axel didn’t know what to make of it and he hoped others weren’t beginning to notice either. Apparently the only one that seemed to notice was Demyx which wasn’t such a bad thing. Demyx was the only other Nobody that Flare could actually speak to without worry. When he wasn’t running his mouth about his laziness, he was actually one to keep quiet about things.

Axel had went to him to see what Demyx knew only to receive little to basically no help information. The sitar playing Nobody explained that he had been on a mission with her and seen her use a dark spell for the first time since they met although Flare did say if he mentioned to anyone she would chase him around the castle and make sure he goes unconscious longer than Xion and Roxas combined. That alone was enough for Demyx to remain quiet about it. He did display his concern about it and hoped that whatever was going on was just a phase.

“Are we going to RTC or shall I take my leave?” The question left Axel gazing over to questionably. Flare rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her hip, continuing, “So you can catch up with Xion and Roxas?”

 Oh right, it was time for that. Axel ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

“Nah. I don’t think anyone’s going to be up there today.” Axel explained, earning a raised brow from Flare, “Roxas is probably still mad at me for what happened with Xion. Haven’t seen either or around much lately since that happened” Axel admitted.

Flare blinked once as she held a rather blank look at him before slowly nodding. She turned forward, gazing off towards the escalating hills that would eventually lead to the Train Common.

“I recently went on a mission with Number XIV. She was unusually quiet,” Flare’s brows furrowed together as she hummed. “I wonder what had happened to her when you had returned her.”

Axel’s breath hitched slightly but he relaxed and gazed down, his lips tightening unsurely. Honestly he didn’t want to know. He had to leave her to Xemnas for him to deal with her when she became conscious again. What happened after that….it was anyone’s guess.

Flare shook her head and looked back over to Axel. She released her rod, allowing the rod to break away into leaves and blow away in the wind.

“I do hope things get better though. It would be saddening to see the trio breakup because of all of this.” Flare half-smirked causing Axel to roll his eyes in annoyance. Seems some things about Flare won’t ever change. Flare took a step forward and held out her hand when Axel decided to stroll over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped from opening the portal before glancing up to him with a raised brow.

“Hey, why don’t we go and get some ice cream?” Axel suggested. Flare’s eyes narrowed and she turned slightly to face him better.

“What are you implying?” She demanded causing Axel to roll his eyes and ruffle her hair slightly causing the smaller Nobody to glare at him.

“All I’m suggesting is that we hold off on RTC, get some sea-salt ice cream, and go eat it up at the Clock Tower” Axel replied.

“Inviting me to accompany you on this sacred routine of yours?” Flare paused, “Surprisingly kind of you.”

Axel stared dead panned at her, wondering why they were still on the subject of how surprising it was to invite her up there all the sudden. He didn’t want to sit there all alone really, it would feel awkward without Xion and Roxas up there.

“You want to go or what?”

“Why not.”

Soon enough they got some of the sea salt ice cream and now were sitting on the ledge of the Clock Tower, watching another sunset in Twilight Town. Flare gazed at the sunset, slightly mesmerized by it while Axel took his first bite into the ice cream, the cold tingling sensation running down his throat.

 “The view here is wondrous. No wonder you always come here.” Flare admired as her legs swung gently over the side. Axel nodded in agreement as he gazed at the sunset as well. Today’s sunset wasn’t as bright as some of the others but it was something to behold.

“Mhmm,” Axel hummed before taking another bite of the ice cream.

“Axel?”

Axel hummed in response, “Hmm?”

“Do you ever wonder how long will the Organization last?” Flare’s question rung in Axel’s ears, causing his brows to furrow.  

“It’s not something I generally think about, but it does come to mind once in a while.” Axel answered. She hummed lowly, holding her ice cream with both hands as it began to drip from the tip. Axel shifted from his position to face Flare. “What’s up? Something on your mind?”

 “A lot of things are happening. I feel like we cannot control what’s to come. All that has happened so far has been dividing this group to the point where there is no one else to trust. I could only wonder…..” She lifted her head up, gazing out into the sunset as the light reflected off her face. Flare remained quiet for a few moments before looking down.

“How long can this reality truly last before it finally cracks?”

Axel blinked a few times before staring ahead, the question repeating in his head. He thought back to Castle Oblivion and how he himself had put an end to two Nobodies personally for Saix’s better interest.

The rest might’ve been defeated by Riku, Sora, and Michelle but he remembered how different it might’ve been if he had also taken Flare out. He should’ve been the last one standing. She appeared right at the end, still standing tall as well. She figured the deaths were planned and questioned him if she was next. By then he had enough of finishing people off. From there, Flare was formally introduced into the Organization with no title. She was merely declared Vexen’s replacement and from there recon information and other information went through her.

Ironic, how the person he seemed to distrust turned out to be someone he relied on more than even Saix. His eyes dropped slightly and he sighed. Honestly, he didn’t know how long things would last. Everything was changing, everything felt wrong now. As much as he wanted to keep his friendships and be able to achieve the Organization’s goal. He knew it wasn’t going to happen without sacrifice.

Flare suddenly tensed up, a gasp being caught in her throat as she suddenly reeled back. Axel turned his attention over to her only to see an extremely unpleasant look on her face as she shook her head, her hand moving her mouth and her eyes were shut close.

“Is that how this ice-cream really tastes like?! I didn’t know it was so salty!” She remarked, her face twisting awfully from the taste.

Axel blinked once before chuckling loudly in amusement, shaking his head before he started laughing. “Well I’m honored, I got to witness Flare’s first freak out over sea-salt ice cream.”

Flare shook her head, glaring at him, “Honestly, how can you three eat this almost everyday?!”

“It’s just that good” Axel retorted with a smirk. Flare scoffed before taking another bite, her face twisting to a sour expression before it softened and she gazed back at the ice cream. “It’s getting sweeter though…”

For the next few minutes the two simply sat in silence, eating the Sea-Salt ice cream while admiring the sunset in peace. Axel half smiled, glad that he was able to come up here again after such a while of absence here. Eventually the two got up and Axel made the dark portal to RTC.

“Ready to go?” Axel asked turning to Flare. She was gazing out towards the sunset taking a long look out over the horizon. “Axel….one more thing”

“Hmm?”

_Ssssssssrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeccchhhhhh_

 “Whatever happens……remember that I choose this on my own free will—”

_Ssssssssssssrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeecccccccchhhhhh_

[Return of Original POV]

I held a hand to my head, blinking a few times more as my vision began to focus. I blinked slowly, scratching my head, wincing from the sheer pain. I held a hand to my neck, immediately moving it away when I could feel the prickling needles follow down my spine. Oww, that hurts. Why does it hurt so much?

Memories flashed in my mind, recalling the darkened alleyway, the bells that jiggled on the cart, the mysterious Chinese woman who turned out to be a vicious snake woman, the blood on my neck, and that guy….the same one I had helped earlier. I winched, feeling my neck prickle with pain at the slight movement. My neck….my god my neck hurts.

I opened my eyes and turned my head as best as I could to look down on my neck to see that it had been bandaged up. Bandages had been secured over the bite area while gauze was wrapped lightly over the bandaged area to secure it in place and cover some of the scratches. I blinked a few times, the questions of who had bandaged my neck and who took off my dark cloak were running through my mind as I slowly picked my head up and began examining my surroundings. My eyes blinked harshly against the scattered rays of sunlight peering into the darkened room, a suffocating musky scent lingering in the air.

The back of my throat felt extremely sore as I inhaled, suddenly conscious that I can breathe on my own. I sat up slowly, analyzing the new found setting I woke up in.

It was a somewhat large living room with two large couches beside the window and across from an old box t.v that was in the corner of the room. The blinds for the windows were almost all pushed down except for the last few allowing the streaks of light in. I looked around cautiously as I gripped the side of the couch then began to stand up slowly.

My muscles were still extremely sore and my legs felt like pins and needles, charlie’s leg, oww! Freaaaak.

I clenched my teeth, hunched slightly forward before forcing myself to take a step and continue on till the feeling in my legs disappeared. The wooden floors underneath my feet creaked loudly as I began to stroll around the room, trying to figure out exactly where I was. I could tell I was in an apartment that’s for sure. Point out the obvious there. But where was I?!

Was I still in Manhattan, I could’ve been in New Jersey for all I know!

I cringed at the thought, wondering how the heck I could’ve been smuggled over there on the ferry unless they had a car…but I doubt it.

I went over to the windows and pulled down the blinds to look out and see the streets below. I scanned the street before sighing in annoyance and released the blinds. Rubbing my chin stubbornly, I turned around to scan the room once again and my eyes narrowed. There was three doors, two were in front of me while the other was in a further hallway which I figured was the door to leave this place. My eyes narrowed, wondering if I should do that but I couldn’t leave without my cloak. It would be too suspicious. I wouldn’t be able to go through dark portals anymore without it!

I groaned, rubbing my cheek harshly before I began walking around and scavenging for my cloak.

 I began to search through the rooms and some of the stuff in the mini kitchen they had on the other side of the room, I could clearly tell teenagers lived here. Damn it was kind of a mess….well…one of the room….maybe that’s where a guy sleeps or something, the other room was somewhat tidy. I rummaged through the closets, frowning as I came up empty handed once again. Damn it, where is my cloak??

I grimaced, placing a hand on my neck as I stood in the center of the living room. Whoever had my cloak was surely to come back and when they did I’ll be sure to get it back. No matter what. My eyes narrowed, gazing over to the small little television in the corner as my reflection shined off of it. My mind went completely blank for a moment when I turned my head slightly towards the couch to see the remote for it was resting on the armrest of the furniture.

I could waste some time right now.

I slipped onto the couch, leaning myself over the armrest as I held the remote to the t.v and turned it on. The t.v screen remained dark for a second before illuminating and then a blur of pictures appeared on the screen and I tilted my head. Okay, I guess I’m all right with watching the news. A female news reporter was waiting patiently to explain the news while her co-workers in the office explained the brief details.

_“Breaking news in Union Square where another sighting of the strange monster that rampaged in downtown Manhattan earlier this month has appeared. Anna over to you.”_

_“Thanks Matt, as you can see the damage caused by this mysterious creature is very real—”_

My jaw hanged open in disbelief as my hand became limp and the remote slipped out of my hands and clattered against the floor. What the hell…..

_“Amateur video recording of the prior rampage shows proof of its existence and powerful capability to crush vehicles with a swing of its tail. Officials have told us that the population of New York City, namely the Manhattan district and Queens district should remain indoors or proceed with extreme caution. The small military force that was currently docked from the U.S.S JFK are on patrols and working in cooperation with the NYPD—”_

I flipped through the channel, my mind unable to process that the heartless attack was just on a nationally wide news report. Holy crap. What the heck. That video footage was good too….but it wasn’t much. It only showed when the heartless arrived and people started freaking out. It didn’t show me nor the guy that began shooting at it moments later. I ended up on another news channel, finding another female newscaster was this time at what looked like to be the front of a blocked off Grand Central Station with police cruisers standing nearby the taped off sight.

_“In light of the strange creature cases, officials, the EL &P, and the Metro-North Railroad station workers are all working together to reopen the airports and train stations. Unknown electrical technicalities have forced all services to come to a halt and become suspended. We have a spokesman from the Metro-North Railroad to speak with us about the ongoing process.” _

_“We’re working night and day, 24/7 trying to fix these guys up but nothing’s good. It’s like someone just decided to turn the light switch off for these guys. A lot of frustration is coming from this but we want to reassure the populace that we’re not sitting on our asses and we’re actually trying to bring back the power—any comments questions—”_

_“For over the past four months we’ve been dealing with unexplainable circumstances. Almost all contact to the outside of New York State has been cut off. Driving becomes nearly impossible due to the freak storm that left many streets and highways in ruin. Work crews are still working on that to get to other cities and find out what could’ve happened. Reporting live here from Grand Central Station, I’m—”_

I flipped back to the prior channel, blinking wildly. New York….was going into madness. People were freaking out…well…the news made it seem like people were freaking out. I guess right now most people have adjusted to the current situation at hand and are braving it out. I rubbed my chin, humming lowly as I let the information sink in.

What was going on….?

_“—the NYPD has currently issued a curfew for all civilians and tourists for the better interest to keep people safe. Until they can locate, identify, and eliminate the creature, no one is allowed on the streets past 12—”_

“Don’t move,” A click rang in the air and I suddenly tensed, my eyes widening in fear as I could tell that the person was holding a gun. Well, laying down over the armrest like this wasn’t probably the best way I wanted to be found. Soooo didn’t look suspicious what’s so ever. Dang it.

I slowly raised my hands up above my head and turned slightly to face the person. My eyes widen in shock though to see it was the guy that had saved me.

What was his name…uh…Nero. I think its Nero. Going to refer to him as Nero. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt along with some dark jeans, black sneakers, and sunglasses. Nero held a gun readily and was aiming right at me causing me to flip over and continue to hold my hands over my head. I felt the corner of my lips twitch as I felt the oncoming nervous laughter. Not the best time for that.

“What are you doing?” He demanded. I blinked twice before turning my head slightly.

“Uhhh….watching t.v..?” His eyes narrowed and he took a step further towards me.

“When did you get up?” Well…he’s quiet the interrogator.

“I got up about 20 minutes ago,” I fired right back before taking a stand, only for this guy to pull out a second gun from his pocket.

”I’m…..just going to sit right back down.” I murmured quietly, sitting right back onto the couch. Nero slowly took a step over to where I was and pocketed his other gun into his holster. His sunglasses were reflecting the light of outside and I couldn’t even tell if he was staring at me anymore. He pulled his sunglasses off and his ebony eyes narrowed. Wait! I’m sure they were blue…..they were!

“Who are you and who are you working for?”

 “Excuse me?” I repeated, my eyes narrowing as I stared at him strangely.

“You heard what I said….don’t make me have to repeat myself…..” He said slowly. I blinked wildly a few times, unable to comprehend what he was saying to me. Is this guy nuts?

“Yeah, Tiffany Robins of the FBI, how do I make your acquaintance—NO! That’s crazy talk. I don’t work for anyone and I’m certainly not telling my name till you tell me yours!” I snapped aggressively, tempting to stand up but his stance was unmerciful and I knew if I made the wrong move he was going to shoot. Well, hopefully Nero was his actual name but I want to hear it from him before anything.

Nero’s eyes narrowed and he fixed himself to hold the handle of the guns with both of his hands. “Don’t tempt me—”

I stepped up, my hand extended out as my keyblade flashed to my hands and my eyes narrowed dangerously right back at him. “Don’t tempt _me._ ”

The tension in the air increased as his eyes widen by a fraction, probably taken aback that the weapon materialized out of thin air. I took a defensive stand, the back of my legs hitting against the couch. Neither one of us dared moved with our weapons still pointing at one another. Either this was going to turn really messy or I was going to be escaping with a bullet in my leg. Let’s see how this ends up.

“...So you were the one that took out the beast in the factory” Nero lowly acknowledged. I kept my guard up as I tilted my head and raised a brow. He remembered my face?

“Still doesn’t explain why you were after me—”

“I wasn’t after you,” I interrupted, looking rather oddly at him, “I was after the beast. That’s the reason why I’m here. I’m trying to make sure those things don’t keep running around in the streets and people don’t get hurt!”

His eyes narrowed and I could see his grip on his gun loosened a bit, “Why does it concern you?”

“It’s my…..job basically. Those things….they’re called heartless. The only sure fire way in defeating them is with this weapon—” I waved my keyblade slightly for emphasis, “—they’re almost immune to other weapons. Even though you were doing damage to the heartless, it would’ve taken forever for you to destroy one with just those guns. If I didn’t step in…..” I paused hesitatingly and glanced down to the ground.

What would’ve happened if I didn’t help him, I think I rather not know. Nero’s eyes remained still on me, his grip on his gun tightening ever so slightly. After what felt like two minutes of pure awkward silence he finally lowered his gun.

“Nero.”

“Huh?” I tilted my head with a raised brow.

“It’s Nero,” He repeated subtly, “my name.”

I stared at him questionably when I saw him lower his gun fully into his other holster and stand up straight. He looked at me and I simply stared back till I realized what he meant by that. Oh. Well, I feel kind of stupid right now. I lowered my keyblade to let the head rest on the ground as I scratched my cheek lightly. Well this was an unexpected turn of events.

“Uh, my name is Michelle,” I introduced, rubbing my head lightly. This was going to be awkward, I could already feel it.  “So you saved me….from that woman—thing, right?” I decided to ask.

Nero nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, “Yeah, that woman wasn’t human, she was a demon.”

A what now?

“A demon?” I repeated as I stared at the male in front of me like he was an insane nut job. Well, I’m surprised he didn’t look at me that way when I told him the beast was a heartless. Unless…he doesn’t even know what a heartless is.

“Yeah, demons run around in the city sometimes taking un-expecting prey. I have a crew patrolling to make sure that doesn’t happen as often as it should.” Nero explained briefly.

I blinked a few times, kind of taken by surprise that someone like him would do that…..well…I guess when you look at it like that….i’m a hypocrite cause that’s exactly what Sora and I did. I smiled lightly and scratched my head when suddenly the door was violently kicked open. I instantly took a defensive stand when I heard heavy thuds entering the apartment.

“HEY ZZZZEEEERO! GUESS WHAT BRI AND I FOUND IN THE MARKET! A NEW RESTURANT OPENED UP AND—”

A tall male halted at the entrance of the living, his caramel orbs landing on me then darting over to Nero before gazing back over to me. He had to be at least 6 feet with light brown locks curled against his forehead and his ears as he held about three plastic bags in his arms. He blinked wildly a few times, raising one of his hands that was still holding a plastic bag to scratch his head.

“Uh…..I see that she’s awake now….” The new comer pointed out the obvious, his cheeks brimming a faint red.

“Uhhh……” He held a bag as seconds later a young female with extremely long, light brown hair stepped into the living and even in the dark atmosphere of the room I could see she was wearing a long-sleeved purple shirt and cut up black jeans with red converse, similar colored orbs gazing over to my direction.

Nero looked over to the girl then to the male before rolling his eyes, “My friends, Demetri and Bri”

An awkward silence followed after that before the one known as Demetri held out the plastic bag.

“Anyone up for Chinese?”

**********************************

“So, that thing is called a heartless?” Demetri chewed on a thing crepe, shoving his moo shu vegetables into another, “And those heartless can destroy worlds if they start coming in mass armies? The, you, along with a few others poses a key that can definitely kick their ass and make sure they stay dead?”

“Pretty much,” I confirmed, taking a small sip of water, “It’s happened before….although I don’t think anyone can recall it.”

 “It sounds really bizarre, almost impossible,” Bri remarked, spinning her fork in her meal, mixing the sauce and rice together, “But strangely enough, believe it.”

“You do?” Demetri spoke, bits of vegetable falling onto the table as he chewed. Bri looked rather annoyed at him, dropping her fork onto her plate of food. Focusing back on me, she decided to continue her train of thought. 

“I have the feeling she’s telling the truth, you know, I’m pretty lucky with most of assumptions.” She gazed over at Demetri and he blinked before slowly nodding.

“Riiiight…”

I blinked a few times while Nero rolled his eyes slightly and took a bite of chicken before gazing over at my direction. “So how can we get rid of them before they all start coming here?”

I folded my hands together, my brows furrowing as I focused on the space between my hands, “Well, this may sound strange—”

“Like everything else you have told us didn’t?” Nero interrupted, only to get a rough elbowed by Bri who kept a poker face, beckoning a hand towards my direction.  Nero rubbed his side with a grimace, grunting lowly, “Continue.”

“….Well I need to find something that represents the heart of New York, to find a keyhole that has access to the heart of the world—” I stopped momentarily, feeling my cheeks flush brightly,  “Now that I say it out loud it does sound crazy but that’s what it is. Only problem is that I don’t know where exactly that would be in New York City….this place is too big for its own good!”

I rubbed my head roughly and leaned back against the chair, my fingers drumming against the table while I began to think. Time was ticking and I was running out of places to look. The three looked at each other with eyes narrowing, soft whisperers emitting from there directions causing my eyes to roll. I needed to get going. They weren’t going to have a clue either even though they lived in New York for some time. I rubbed my chin, debating if I should simply thank them for their help and get going or—

_“Breaking news, another creature had been sighted in Midtown Manhattan. Civilians and pedestrians are asked to remain inside buildings and or cooperate with the police as they begin to block off 42 nd Street and Park Avenue—”_

“Wait a second,” I lifted my head, turning around in the seat to look at the television that was broadcasting the breaking news. The camera was showing police taping down the beginning of the street as another officer was redirecting traffic. A few crushed cars were left totaled on the side of the road causing my eyes to narrow. Another creature?

My eyes narrowed as I recognized the damage done to the cars on the t.v. They were like that other heartless that I took out. Another heartless is wreaking havoc again?

Freak.

“42nd Street. Why does that sound familiar? Ugh, where is that?” I scratched my head as Demetri gazed over at the t.v, his eyes squinting.

“Park Avenue? That’s where Grand Central and the Chrysler building is,” Demetri answered. Nero and Bri seemed fixated on the television at the moment as I stood up.

“Another creature is on the loose again. From the damage it seems bigger than the one Nero was trying to deal with,” Bri noted as the camera angle changed from the damage back to the reporter and she began talking once more.

Grand Central, why would a heartless go there….unless?

 I rubbed my chin, the thoughts running incredibly fast through my head. Could it be that the center of the world was in Grand Central, the heart that travels all?

It’s a big stretch but I have to take my chances with the possibilities. I pushed my chair in

“I know where it is! Now I gotta go and stop that heartless!” I turned, pausing momentarily before looking at the three that seemed a bit startled by my sudden movement. “Thanks for taking care of me while I was poisoned and knocked out! I’ll repay you guys back somehow but I really have to go, hopefully we’ll meet again—!”

“Whoa, whoa wait! You can’t go by yourself!” Bri protested loudly as I rushed to the end of the hallway almost making it to the doorway when an arm suddenly blocked my path and I find myself looking up to Demetri blocking the door, wagging a finger. Whoa! What the heck!? How did he get here so fast?!

“Demetri! I have to goooooo! Let me go!” I began tugging at his arm for it to move but he would not budge for anything in the world. My god! Was he made of stone?!

Nero and Bri entered into the hallway with Nero leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Do you even know where Grand Central is from here?” Nero asked. I rolled my eyes and realized Demetri’s arm to look over at him.

“I’ll find my way.”

“By the time you get there, half of that street would be destroyed by that ‘heartless’.” Nero responded bleakly causing my hopes to drop. It was true though. I didn’t know exactly where I was and I still didn’t have my black coat! My eyes narrowed as I opened my mouth to attempt to argue back only to have Demetri pat my shoulder.

“What he’s really trying to say is that we’re not letting you go in it alone. This is our city, we have as much as a right to go out there and protect it,” Demetri explained. “But I told you—”

“We know what you told us, but it doesn’t hurt to have back up” Bri remarked. “We’re not totally useless against those heartless. We can probably put up a good fight against of it if it’s the four of us working together.”

I sighed, rubbing my head as I looked between the three. I don’t think they were going to take no as an answer anytime soon. The concept of teaming up with a complete group of strangers was a bit intimidating….but it felt kind of better than working by self against it. I scratched my cheek before sighing in frustration and dropping my arms to my sides in defeat.

“You guys are really willing to help me?” I asked lamely.

“Yeah,” Demetri exclaimed cheerfully, leaning fully against the door with Bri nodding in agreement. That’s when my attention went over to Nero seeing him flip open his sunglasses and place them on. He shrugged slightly.

“We have the same goal so why not,” Nero remarked casually.

I smiled softly as I rested my hands on my hips. “Well….all right then. Let’s head to Grand Central!”

Nero nodded as Demetri smacked his fists together, grinning ecstatically while Bri brushed her hair to the side and grabbed a hair tie from her wrist to begin placing her hair up.

“Let’s move out”

**********************************

“Well here we are…” Bri murmured disappointingly, her fingers tapping the side of her hip.

“I knew we should’ve followed the rail tracks.” Nero murmured disappointingly.

I crossed my hands behind my neck with my head tilting slightly. We had left the apartment and jumped on the subways, crossing into the path of some Shadow heartless that were scurrying down there. Heh, apparently everyone ran off at the sight of them. We took care of them without a stitch and I learned Demetri is quiet a formidable fist fighter while his sister has her ways with telekinesis. That would’ve been so useful to have that skill. It only made me more curious about this strange group of kids. Apparently there was more to see here in New York City than ever before. Maybe after I’m done with traveling the worlds I’ll start popping by here to check out what’s up.

We had to end up walking through the subway tunnels on foot before reaching finally reaching 42nd St. Sad to say that it was almost impassible right now. I grimaced at the sight a few yards ahead; police cruisers were literally lined along the street acting as a barricade to prevent anyone from getting any further into the blocked off area. Beside them camera crews were lined up, gathered in front of the yellow tape line and broadcasting live for whoever was watching the t.v. Yeah….we’re so not going to be able to get in there without getting noticed.

Demetri glowered in frustration, leaning against the brick wall behind him. Nero’s left arm was across his chest with his right elbow resting on the arm, his chin resting on the hand, stroking it gently.  It looks like the NYPD is not taking this situation lightly. Although I find it actually very good that they’re actually trying to fight against this and keep everyone safe, it’s not such a good idea either. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the building and hummed lowly. If we were to get into the building however, maybe I could do something with the world’s center and maybe the heartless would stop appearing in the growing numbers they’re appearing in now.

 “I guess we’re going to have to go around again,” I assumed but Bri shook her head dismissingly.

 “It would take too long, even though the subways are down right now due to those creepy ant heartless. It would take us at least another half an hour to cross through the subways and enter the right track that would enter into Grand Central. I have a bad feeling they have cops guarding the entrances to those too.” Bri scratched her neck roughly as she frowned in annoyance.

 “So how do you figure we’re going to get by without getting the police’s attention?!” I whispered, my eyes darting to the K-9 unit, “I feel like they’re not going to let four teenagers into a blocked off area!”

 “We need a distraction” Bri responded, rubbing her chin. She gazed over to Nero as the male came by her side, his attention focusing in on the side of front entrance of Grand Central. Squinting past the glare of the sun, I could make out a doorway was there which probably led inside the building. Must’ve been the delivery door they used for the restaurants and businesses inside.

“So what’s the plan on that?” Demetri asked. Nero gazed over at him momentarily and the male glanced over to him and as he was about to look away, he jerked his attention back to Nero’s demanding stare with exaggerated wide eyes.

Immediately came Demetri’s response, “No!”

“Demetri, you know it has to be you for this.” Bri reasoned but Demetri wasn’t having it.

“C’mon Nero, again What can’t you do it? I got arrested last time by that officer friend of yours!”

He got arrested?

I was leaning against the wall while watching the two boys begin to bicker about who should go out. I’m beginning to become a little concerned about whether or not I was sitting around a bunch of convicts. What the heck was their deal?

Nero pointedly stared at him in annoyance, crossing his arms, “You provoked her—and she’s not my friend!”

“OH?! I’m /so/ sorry. Let me rephrase that. The woman who’s nice enough to let you go with a warning instead of keeping you behind bars for FOUR DAYS!” Demetri scowled scornfully towards the shorter male.

I continued to remain out of this conversation, deciding to silently judge them. From what it sounded like they were good acquaintances with the NYPD. This was surely going to make sneaking around so much easier. If my sarcasm wasn’t noted within my own head, I could only wonder how it’d go through to them.

“I don’t think she’ll give me a break this time if that’s what you’re trying to suggest.” Demetri and Nero took to the sidewalk, their gazes still following each other.

“You can dodge better than me!” Demetri pointed out.

“You can run faster!”  Nero argued back.

I blinked a few times as the bickering returned between the two. For a moment, however, their voices had been switched. Hearing the energetic young boy arguing with his friend to see who’d get to share the papou fruit with Kairi, I was surprised to see the similarities between the two. Nero’s no nonsense attitude and Demetri’s bubbly personality seemed to merge strangely, showing how they really did support each other. Even if it seemed like they were ready to go at each other’s throats. Funny enough, it was endearing to see it.

“All right you two!” Bri came between the two, placing a hand on Nero’s head and the other on Demetri’s face, pushing them both back, “Both of you will go!”

“With him?!” the men demanded and Bri rolled her eyes in aggravation. I quirked my lips, running my hand through my dark locks, resting my hand along the back of my head.

 “You guys were just complaining a minute ago about doing it by yourself,” I pointed out, “Wouldn’t teaming up with each other be easier? There’s probably a less chance you’ll both go to jail……again.”  

“Not helping,” Nero muttered loudly.

Nero narrowed his eyes, staring deadpanned towards my direction. I could only smirk in response and crossed my arms behind my back, looking away innocently. Both boys looked at each other before sighing exasperatedly. “Fine”

Demetri stretched his arms above his head and to his sides while Nero adjusted his sunglasses as the two began walking forward out towards the middle of the street, “I got the right hand side.”

“Fine, cut through and divide.” Nero responded.

Demetri smirked and smacked his hands together before pulling them closely to his body, taking a step back as he prepared himself with Nero copying. Both stared ahead, waiting patiently for their moment to run while I gazed over in the direction of the unsuspecting police officers. I hope no one was going to get severally injured by the end of this. Watching as the males hurried forward, I caught notice of Nero’s hand slashing forward—magic—he was proficient in using magic. A hydrant down the street burst open, a geyser of water spurting out causing most of the officers to immediately turn their attention to it.

“Get going!” Nero ordered before he took off with Demetri down the street.

Bri and I stepped out into the street as Nero sliced his hands across the air again and another hydrant near the police cruisers exploded causing most to jump back and report to the area. Nero and Demetri easily rushed under the yellow tape and Nero spun around, slicing his hand again in the air causing a hydrant near the news reporters to explode. People began to panic as cops were scrambling to get the crowd under control and others were trying to figure out where to turn the water supply.

“Hey! You two aren’t allowed beyond the line!” One bellowed over the mixed sounds of panicking citizens and the water raining down.

Nero hurled himself over one of the police cruisers while Demetri slammed both of his hands on the hood of another and slid over it, not breaking a beat as he continued his sprint while cops up front near the first broken hydrant began noticing the two teenagers. “Get them!”

Nero stood near the cruisers where several police officers began surrounding him while others began heading in Demetri’s direction. Oh man, they were beginning to get surrounded. Nero looked between the cops surrounding him before smirking.

My eyes widen while Bri began tugging at my arm, “Come on, they’re giving us our chance to move.”

“But aren’t they going to get caught?!” I demanded as I turned to face her.

Seconds later, that’s when I heard a loud crash. I snapped my attention back to see a slab had risen from the ground above the police cruiser and crushed the car underneath it. Nero managed to break past the cops and was sprinting in the direction Demetri had taken seeing the male was slowing down on his sprint. The scene changed dramatically at this point with the police losing control of the situation at hand. Nero uppercut the air when another slab of concrete broke from the ground and raised up into the air and Demetri immediately picked up his speed. Now it looked like they were having the advantage now.

 “THANKS!” Demetri hollered loudly, his hand waving in the air as he used the raised road as leverage and leaped over the officers. Nero nodded before he took a sharp turn to the left. Whatever cops weren’t trying to handle the hydrants or the civilians were now after them with most of them on foot. Huh, divide and conquer worked after all.

“C’mon, let’s take advantage over this!” Bri insisted, tugging at my arm once more. I hesitated before nodding in agreement and allowed her to take the lead. She led the way, staying relatively close to the walls of the buildings before we darted across the street towards the doorway. We reached the door, Bri standing next to it as she gazed at the lock before turning to me.

“Can you smash the door open?” Asked Bri while she scanned the streets, hoping no cops would pursue us here most likely. We were still out in the open, the chances were slimmed but they were still high up. I examined the lock, knowing for sure I wouldn’t be able to break in that way. It was high tech, if I smashed it, I’ll probably set an alarm off or something or lock us out indefinitely. I shook my head and stepped away from the door.

“That would take too much time, time we really don’t have right now—” Demetri incoherently yelled from down the street and both girls turned momentarily to see the male leap on the hood of a police cruiser again while gunfire rang seconds after, shattering the window of one of the cars. My eyes widen and I immediately turned to face forward and held my hand out.

The keyblade shined brightly before me and I took a step to the side, holding the head of the keyblade toward the lock. The tip shined brightly and a few seconds passed with the light growing on the door handle before it suddenly made a loud click. The door creaked open seconds later and I looked to Bri seeing she held a rather shocked expression.

“How did you do that?” Bri sounded quite stunned. I fully opened the door and gestured for her to head in, grinning cockily.

“Keyblade powers, gotta love it sometimes.” I winked.  

Bri stood by the doorway, tilting her head as she studied me for a minute. “Where were you when I was locked out of the apartment last week?” She stepped inside and I was about to close the door when suddenly a hand stuck in, halting me from stopping and I nearly shrieked from fright, instinct driving me to hurl the door shut. The hand reacted quickly, catching the door before being crushing. I leaped out the way, my keyblade flashing out as the door opened up—but the owner was revealed to be Nero.

“Nero???” Bri questioned.

The side door shut quietly behind as I squinted in the darkness and gazed around. Well….at least we made it inside Grand Central Station at least. Though we’re going to have to find out how to actually enter the main premises of the building.

“You left Demetri out there?” Bri demanded harshly, something dropping nearby my foot. I could hear her shuffling in the bag, muttering in annoyance on why she had to carry my black coat. I offered to take it off her hands and she tossed it luckily towards my direction. I smiled in appreciation and placed my coat back on, finding it rather comforting in this darkness.

“He said he would be fine. He’ll probably outrun them in Hyde Park. Hopefully he doesn’t go down another Goblin or Fey tunnel.” Nero responded

A what tunnel?

A light emerged in the hallway as Bri pulled a flashlight from her bag and flashed the surrounding area, revealing carts of boxes that were simply left behind unopened.

“All right everyone, let’s go!” Bri directed the way, leading with a flashback.

We ended up strolling through the dark hall ways with Bri guiding us with her flashlight. There were no heartless in here that’s for sure. I can’t help but feel like there’s something here though. Our footsteps echoed loudly in the halls, the light reflecting off old, dusty glass. I don’t understand why they would totally close this place off for. I mean…even if nothing was working right now this place can still be operational. Hmm. One of the many questions I’ll never be able to get answered. We exited through a door that we finally managed to find and finally we entered on to some familiar ground. It was one of the hallways that would finally interconnect with the main hallway of Grand Central Station. Bri held the flashlight up as we took a turn around the corner and entered into the main room. Bri whistled loudly, the whistling echoing throughout the large room.

“Feels like…..we’re in a post-apocalyptic future. Never thought I’d see Grand Central empty.” Bri noted as we simply stood there, basking in the silence. I couldn’t help but agree with her. It was creepy in here.

“Hey, the information desk is dead ahead, let’s keep going.” Nero instructed with Bri nodding and began to head forward.

We strolled forward, my attention unable to be held simply towards the Information Desk. My head turned and twisted towards all the clocks that were all stopped at different times, all frozen within time.  The shattered glass reflected the light of Bri’s flashlight from the ground to the ceiling, revealing the painted constellations that watched from above.  Normally, tens of thousands of people would cross through this room at a time. From the north, the south, the east, the west, and even tourists would come to see this room. Where ever you were from, wherever you were heading to, this was where they all came together.

I tilted my head upwards, the idea of this place being the center of the world becoming very appealing. I gazed up towards the ceiling while Bri slumped over the counter, managing to pop open one of the windows of the information desk and was currently shuffling through papers and other stuff.

 “Hey! I found a light switch,” Bri muffled out from inside the desk.  

Without a moment’s hesitation, something began to buzz alive and the sound of electricity returning back to life with the lights flickering on and off before finally settling back on. I blinked wildly, spinning around as all the lights returned to the room with a low rattling hum. Bri pulled herself from the Information Desk, blinking wildly while Nero groaned in irritation, flipping his sunglasses back on. I couldn’t help but glance over to him, wondering why he had such a sensitivity towards the light. Was he a photophobia?

“I guess the information desk is the one that holds the master control for everything here,” Bri mused with a thoughtful hum afterwards, “kind of convenient when you think about it.”

I blinked a few times as my eyes adjusted back to the light when I began to scan around, finding the time tables were the only things that were not lit up. I blinked a few times, tilting my head. I guess the machine for that is still broken….but something seemed strange about it. I don’t know why but—

“RIIIIIIIIIITH!”

The three of us quickly spun around, hearing the echo emerge from down the flight of stairs. The ground beneath shook as the sound of desperate running and stomping followed.  Bri blinked wildly a few times, picking herself out of the Information Desk and stood tentatively next to Nero.

“What was that?” Bri asked.

 “RIIIIITH!” The echo came louder as we slowly walked closer to the direction of where the echo was coming from. Nero took out one gun, relaxing his index finger along the gun while the sound of something large growled in the direction where the shouting was coming from. We all took a few steps towards the center of the room when finally the sound of the running came to reveal the owner. A smaller than average male came running towards our direction, four feet with the brightest red hair that would make a Weasly jealous. I blinked a few times in disbelief as the man came sprinting towards our direction.

“What’s a leprechaun doing here?” Nero murmured as the figure came closer in view.  Now he’s saying he’s a leprechaun…I couldn’t tell whether it was supposed to be a mean joke or the truth because with his wild red hair, it was making him awfully seem like a leprechaun. But a leprechaun wearing what look liked to be homemade shoes and jeans???

That’s when we heard a horrible growl ring in the tunnel and I flashed my keyblade out, instantly feeling goosebumps prick at my skin. It felt like something terrible was coming…and I could only imagine it was a heartless.

“Don’t just stand there and gawk! RUN WHILE YOU CAN!” The leprechaun yelled, cutting right through between us before sprinting over to the Information Desk then diving right in, paperwork and the chair flying all over. I turned to briefly look over when Bri suddenly started hitting my shoulder.

“Uhhh!!!!” Bri couldn’t even get the words out when I fully turned and jumped in place. A large heartless prowled into the main hall, its fur prickling up as its muzzle sniffed the air. This was baaaaaaaad, it was like the one-headed version of Cerberus. Holy crap that was a big heartless.

“All right, what’s the plan on fighting this thing?” Nero asked as he took his second gun out, his finger holding the trigger while the heartless stomped towards us. I blinked wildly, looking up to the heartless momentarily before looking at him in a sheepish manner. 

“I didn’t think of a plan” I admitted.

“What?!” Nero snapped after a brief moment.

Bri’s daunting uncertainly towards the heartless that was beginning to close in was beginning to make me feel nervous. Even behind his shades I could tell I was getting a scowling stare from Nero causing me to smile nervously back. I can’t make plans up like that, I’ve worked with Sora, Donald, and Goofy for pete sakes! We never made plans. We winged it the whole time basically.

I exhaled aggressively, shaking my head and swung the keyblade forward.

“We wing it!” I retorted, “If you have magic, use magic! Fire your guns! Whatever! Regardless, I need to be able to get a clear shot of this guy.”

Nero grunted in annoyance while Bri smacked him by the shoulder, “WE SHOULD MOVE!”

The heartless was right above us, snarling as I could smell the rotting and decaying odors of a morgue.  Oh it was vile, like something was actually burning in there. I covered my nose with my hand, my face scrunching in a disgusted expression, “Jeez, you need a breath mint.”

Even though I rested up, I knew I was low on magic and I am going to have to be careful with when I use it. Right now I was going to need it, especially with keeping these guys safe. I raised a hand up, stepping back, “Freeze!”

The heartless howled loudly, the whine muffled by the ice that was coating the mouth. I retracted my arm back as the heartless lifted his head up, its red eyes narrowing down directly at me now. Well freak, at least I provoked it to attack me. Great. I snapped my attention to the side, looking towards the stairs that led to the second level where most of the restaurants were at. Nero and Bri would have a better shot up there.

“Spread out!” I shouted, “Head up the stairs to take that thing from above.”

“Are you sure?” Bri demanded while Nero fired several times at the unfrozen parts of the heartless.

“Yeah, I think I’ll be able to handle it from down here” I responded.

Rushing forward, I dove underneath the heartless as it smashed its head against the ground, ice chunks scattering across the floor as Nero and Bri jump to the sides to avoid the attack. Instantly gunfire rang while I picked myself up from the ground, turning my head to see Nero firing away at the heartless as it scraped its head against the ground to get rid of the last bits of ice on its muzzle.

“Hurry and get going to the stairs!” I called out.

The heartless shook its head out wildly and snapped its jaws to the side as it slammed a paw down upon the ground, the floor shaking violently. My eyes narrowed and I charged from behind, slashing at the legs of the heartless to try and keep it from chagrining at Nero who continued to fire at it with Bri recovering behind him. I continued to slash at the legs when all the sudden the hind legs kicked up into the air forcing me back to avoid getting trampled on. That’s when a black swipe of a tail hurled into my stomach, knocking me into the air before I ended up skidded against the marble tiled flooring. I groaned, gripping my stomach when I saw the heartless turn to face me. Well oh shit. It raised up on its hind legs and I had to roll before it slammed both of its paws on the ground, crushing the marble spot where I was at. Freak.

I stumbled onto my feet, lifting my keyblade up while the heartless spun around wildly before facing me. My eyes widen and looked past it momentarily to see Bri and Nero were rushing up the stairs before rounding the corner to the second floor. The heartless howled, nearly sending a wave of vibrations that sent me flying back and or caused my ears to begin bleeding. I can’t tell, the ringing is still going on in my ears.

“Freak!”

I clamped a hand over my ears, feeling my whole being begin to rattle from the vibrations. Ugh. Is this what confusion is like cause I feel like I’m spinning around although I’m pretty sure I’m standing still. I held up my keyblade defensively, seeing doubles of the blade when the heartless charged forward and I leaped to the right, completely avoiding the heartless but everything was spinning. That’s when I saw the claw focus in for a moment but I didn’t have enough time to react as it slammed a clawed paw on the lower half of my body.

“Double Freak!”

I shut my eyes tightly before cracking it open to see the heartless looking in another direction, the sounds of gunshots becoming clearer and I inclined my head to see on the second floor that Nero was firing vigorously while Bri stood on the railing, her arms raised high above her head before throwing it down and sending several chairs at the heartless.

“Hey! Get a load of this!”

Bri leaped down from the ledge and threw her arms down, a vending machine flying down and smashed against the heartless’s head causing it to howl in displeasure. The heartless swiped its other free paw against the railing, bending the metal and causing Bri to shriek and move away. Gunfire came from the other side of the room as the heartless snapped its head in the direction and I managed to turn my head that way to find Nero was firing at it now.

I groaned, trying to pull myself away from the claw when I grabbed the keyblade and stabbed the paw causing the heartless to howl loudly in pain.  It raised the paw momentarily allowing me to escape before slamming it down again onto the floor, crushing the spot. Jeez, that was a close call. I extended out the keyblade as I got to my feet and threw the keyblade in the air, watching it spin wildly in the air before upper-cutting the head of the heartless. The heartless howled and the keyblade boomeranged in the air, about to double strike when the heartless raised a paw into the air and slammed the keyblade out of the way sending the blade flying across the room before stabbing into the stair case.

Triple freak.

I am not having any luck today.

I gritted my teeth as the heartless slammed a paw down in my direction while I jumped out of the way and held my hand towards it. “Thunder!” The jolts of electricity ran around my wrist before extending out towards the heartless and shocking it. The lightning didn’t seem to any damage to it since it turned its body towards my direction, fangs snapping towards my direction. Damn it, I thought lightning was what paralyzed the smaller version of this heartless. Man, I wish I wasn’t down on magic.

“Blizzard!” I casted the spell towards the floor as I began running forward, the heartless speedily after me as the sound of gunfire continued to ring. My god, how much ammo does this kid have? More importantly, why isn’t the heartless going down yet????

I leaped down on the ground, skidding across the flooring till I reached the staircase and pulled the keyblade from the marble ground before quickly turning to see the heartless skidding against the ice. I raised the keyblade, ready to strike at its mouth when I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder and pulled me behind. What the—

“HAAA!” Demetri slammed a fist into his curled palm before retracting it and smashed his fist into the snot of the heartless. The heartless howled loudly in pain, stumbling back while Demetri grinned wildly, wiping a thumb across his cheek. “Hehehe, how do you like them apples??” Demetri called out, raising his fists up and jumped around in place. I blinked a few times in disbelief while Demetri turned to me with a cocky grin.

“Well that was a close one! Came right in at the nick of time, right?” Demetri asked. Five seconds later Nero came crashing right down in front of us, groaning

“Well nice of you to join us down here” I greeted, holding out a hand to Nero as he picked himself up from the ground, shaking his short hair wildly from the dust and debris.

“Demetri what the hell, I was on its neck!” Nero snapped in annoyance. Demetri huffed, crossing his arms. “Well it looks like you weren’t doing much to it, now were you?”

“I swear to God I’m going to shoot your head off one of these day.”  Nero snapped.

“You can try but you ain’t going to hit this money-making face—” A table slammed down upon the heartless, knocking it off it’s stance and crashed into the ground causing all of us to look up and see Bri looking down at us in annoyance.

“Will you get on with it!?” Bri demanded.

“She’s right boys, and anyways!” I pointed the keyblade forward towards the ceiling, narrowing my eyes, “I got this all planned out”

“Oh, now you have a plan?” Nero murmured behind me causing me to roll my eyes, feeling my brow twitch.

“Shut up” I grumbled before locking view with the ceiling again, “Fire!” The flames spun around the tip of the keyblade before shooting off towards the ceiling and after a few seconds the sprinkler system turned on. Rain poured from above, instantly soaking everything and would not let down. The heartless growled viciously, getting back on its feet while another table crashed upon it’s back and Demetri looked at me with a raised brow.

“Uhh….I don’t think water is going to do much of a difference” Demetri remarked but I simply held my arm out.

“I’m not done. Take a step back though, I make no promises anyone else may get hurt doing this crazy stunt.” I warned.

Demetri raised a brow but Nero quickly shoved him behind him to the staircase that would lead downstairs to the tunnels. He sharply turned his head over to Bri and waved his hand till he caught her attention.

“BRI, TAKE COVER!”

My eyes narrowed as I sucked in a breath. Hopefully this does the trick. I raised my arm up, my keyblade becoming soaked and trailed water down my arm as I focused in on the heartless.

“Lightning raid!” I hurled the keyblade in the air, watching as the lightning emitted along the body of the keyblade as it spun riotously through the air. Just when I thought it was going to hit smack dab right at the head of the heartless……it ducked its head.

“AW! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” I gripped my hood tightly, feeling the few rain drops escape and splash against my forehead. You’ve got to be kidding me. I MISSED!?!?!?

“Nice plan,” Both of the males mused in unison causing me to spin on my heel and give them a pointed look.

“Shut up! I have horrible aim! Sue me!” Before I could recall the keyblade to my hand, I saw the keyblade awkwardly twist in the air, spinning on an angle before speedily charging back and striking the back of the heartless and sparks of electricity flew out in all directions. My eyes widen in surprise before I began to grin. Hahaha! It worked. The water became the perfect conductor and hopefully tripled the events of the lightning attack!

The heartless stumbled on its feet, bits of electricity running along the fur of the body before the heartless slumped forward before finally falling to the ground in defeat. A circular light began to surround the heartless before a rather large heart floated up into the air before disappearing into nothingness. Demetri jumped in the air excitedly while Nero sighed in relief, pocketing his guns.

“All right! We did it! But that was kind of weird….with the heart…thing.” Demetri remarked choppily.

I snickered lightly at the comment, before I gazed up, seeing Bri leaning over the railing, a relief smile. I got really lucky back there, thank god she had my back on this. The sprinkles eventually stopped trying to flood the place as we stepped down to the spot where the heartless had fallen.

 “Jeez, that thing was pretty angry, wonder what could’ve gotten it so mad?” Demetri questioned. I shrugged absentmindedly.

“Heartless just do that. Mindless little things, unless it was provoked—” I paused, my mind beginning to whirl as I slowly turn towards the Information Desk where a head full of red curls popped up from behind. Nero walked over to the desk before slamming his fist against the wooden desk causing the poor guy to shriek and hold his arms up.

“Oi! I got nuthin to do with that vicious beast!”

“So why was it chasing after you and why were you down here in the first place?” Nero demanded.

“Oi laddy, these days are getting hard for everyone to deal with! Humans and us magical folks. I was out here trying to outrun a bumptious, mischievous pack of werewolves that wanted to start some trouble with me!” The leprechaun stepped out of the Information Desk, dusting off his clothes before looking wearily at Nero before looking to all of us.

“So I managed to loose ‘em in the tunnels, now I guess I know why they didn’t want to follow. But I didn’t leave cause I found this!” He pulled out a circular disk from his pocket causing me to raise a brow and lean forward.

“A disk?” I questioned.

“Yeah, shiny thing too when I had gotten it. Didn’t see that thing though till it roared and I ran away like a shrieking banshee! But here—” The leprechaun pushed the disk to me and quickly took several steps away from us, smiling sheepishly, “I ought to thank you laddies but I don’t want to risk with another one of ‘em coming after me so keep the disk—free of charge! Go raibh maith agat, my newly acquired friends!” That leprechaun sprinted away from anyone’s clutches, darting down the stair case away from sight.

I blinked wildly a few times before grabbing hold of the disk properly and looking at it. It had strange writings along the edge of the disk, written in a similar fashion to what is written in many of DiZ’s books. Hmm, is this from another world? Why would the heartless be so defensive about this???

“Jeez, left without even giving us a hint where that pot of gold could be at—Ow!” Demetri rubbed his arm while Bri gave him a warning glance. Nero walked over to me, raising a brow at the disk. “So the heartless wanted the disk? What for?”

“I don’t know….maybe he was tech savvy?” I murmured sarcastically as I raised the disk high above my head, staring through the hole of it. That’s when the disk suddenly sparked a golden hue and I immediately let go of it, taking a step back and watched as the disk began to glow and rise up in the air a bit.

“Uhh, is it supposed to be doing that? You know….glowing and floating mysteriously in the air?” Bri questioned curiously. I blinked wildly, tilting my head. This looked so familiar, like Kingdom Hearts 2. That’s when above the disk a keyhole appeared at the top of the ceiling, placed neatly in the center.

“I don’t think keyholes magically appear on the ceiling is supposed to happen either….” Demetri murmured. I couldn’t stop blinking as I saw both phenomena’s happening at the same time right before my very eyes. Is this possible?

“Well this is what you were looking for right?” I turned my head to face Nero, blinking. “Uh, ye-yeah, but I didn’t expect this….I don’t think I can do this, I never locked—”

“Then why don’t you try it?” Nero suggested. I could feel my eyes bug out at the thought of locking this world. It seemed outrageous for even thinking about suggesting to lock this world. “I can’t just try it—I mean…” My voice dropped to a quiet murmur as I tried thinking of a way out of this but I was coming to a blank. I sighed in frustration, rubbing my neck roughly before gazing towards the ground, shutting my eyes momentarily. 

_Come on Michelle, you know you can do it!_

“Huh?” My eyes flew open and I snapped my head up, looking around to see where the voice came from. No way. That couldn’t have been—but it sounded so much like him.

 Sora?

I blinked wildly before I looked back up to the ceiling and I decided to take a stance. I held the keyblade tightly with both hands as I held it straight out in front of me. An airy sensation swirled around my body as the tip of the keyblade began to glow and a ray of light shot out towards the ceiling and connected with the ceiling. The keyhole glowed vibrantly before the sound of a lock chimed throughout the room. The lightshow ended and the disk lowered back down with Bri catching it gingerly in her grasp.

Whoa….I did it. Hahaha. That was actually pretty cool!

I don’t know exactly how I did it but I did it! Weird. This feels so weird. Okay, maybe I should stop overthinking about this and accept I was able to do that. I rubbed my neck awkwardly as I stared up to the ceiling curiously. Though…I do wonder why the disk was open…did…did I open a route to a new world as well?

Who knows….maybe I’ll find out one day. Oh! Speaking of worlds….

I slipped a hand into my pocket, pulling the flashdrive before heading over to the Information Desk and stepping inside momentarily. I don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to do with it but DiZ said plug it into a computer, should do something right?

I managed to find a computer and simply plugged the flashdrive into an open outlet and waited a few seconds….when all the information suddenly began pouring out of it.

“What the heck….” I murmured before I lifted my head and looked towards the time tables, watching as they all began to flicker on with lights and suddenly names of cities began to pop up one by one.

“Whoa! Check that out, it’s working again!” Demetri pointed out the obvious as I stepped out of the Information Desk and looked.

My eyes darted across the several names of cities that Grand Central Station’s trains would go through……but I really gave up my hopes there. My heart dropped when I didn’t catch any names with heading to my state. Nothing. Oh come on. Give me a break. I sighed quietly in disappointment, rubbing my neck but when I felt a nudge on my arm, I quickly changed my expression and looked at Bri curiously. She held up the disk and offered a small smile before holding it out to me. I stared at her momentarily before smiling lightly and carefully taking the disk from her.

 “Do you think we’ll meet up again?” Bri asked, crossing her arms behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels. I smiled and nodded gently, folding my arms across one another against my chest. “I hope so, I’m sure once this is all over I’ll be sure to head back to New York City….” I promised.

“Man, its funny! You’ve been with us for the past two weeks and we only now were we getting to know you, mhm—” My entire body stiffed at the word and I froze, my attention locked on Demetri. “Wait what?”

“What?”

“Repeat what you just said. How long was I knocked out?” I questioned. He rubbed his chin, his eyes floating upwards before they widen. “Oh! I said about two weeks, maybe a little less than that. I can’t remember exactly—hey are you okay?”

My face was frozen in a look of pure terror. My hands clamped around my face as I could feel my eyes widen.  TWO WEEKS?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! That’s not what I wanted to hear at all!

“ _Are_ you okay?” Nero’s voice was next to ask and he moved into view beside Demetri and stared questionably at me. That’s when suddenly my cell phone began vibrating and I grabbed my phone hastily to see a text message was received. I clicked it and sent the response back, waiting a few moments till the dark portal formed in front of me.

Demetri jumped at the sight while I hit my chest hastily, shaking my head out before flipping my hood over my head. “I’m guessing that’s for you” Nero murmured as he took a step towards it, his hand extending out towards it bringing a wisp of darkness towards him before it evaporated into the air. I solemnly nodded, adjusting the jacket and peering into the never ending darkness. I swallowed softly and sighed, rubbing my neck and turned to face the trio.

“I want to say thank you, for everything that you guys done for me. Do you think you can do one more favor for me?” I asked hopefully.

“Huh?” Bri blinked before nodding. “What is it?”

“I have a friend that I’ve been looking for ever since all this craziness happened. I thought….I saw her before….but I’m not entirely sure now. If you were to see her here….can you keep her safe?”

Demetri smiled, nodding curtly. “Sure, oh! Is this your friend…umm…I think I remember—” Nero rolled his eyes. “It was Jazmine? That was the friend you mentioned in your story, right?”

“Yeah,” I smiled, “Thanks you guys, I can’t even begin to imagine how I’m going to repay you guys.”

“Could always treat us to some Chinese,” Demetri suggested.

“Or ice cream,” Bri suggested.

“Get these two out of the apartment and that’ll be good enough for me.” Nero retorted.

I chuckled lightly and smiled, offering a small wave. “Later!” I said loudly before turning and gave a full on sprint into the dark portal.

**********************************

 It was moments of endless running in the darkness before I would finally see a light at the end of the never-ending tunnel and I leaped through it, shutting my eyes tightly as it became blindingly bright. Ugh, I had to end up in the room Sora’s being held in. Jeez, this place is outrageously bright. Somebody needs to tone down the lighting in this place. Panting heavily as I cupped my hand into a fist and hit my chest a couple of time while I gazed around the room. Namine was a few feet away from me, her eyes fixated on Sora’s pod in deep concern causing me to raise a brow and casually stroll over to her.

“So, what did I miss out in?” I decided to ask. At first Namine didn’t say anything and honestly I couldn’t tell if it was because I was being quiet or it was because the ringing in my ear was still bothering me. I blinked once before resting my hands on my hips.

“Namine? What’s up? Did something happen? Oh, where’s DiZ, I need to talk to him about the mission—”

“It stopped.” I halted my blabbering, my eyes widening slightly as I turned fully and stared at Namine with a raised brow. What was she going on about?

“What stopped?” I questioned before assuming the optimistic thoughts that lingered into my mind. “DiZ? Huh, wouldn’t that be a miracle if he could stop being a jerk…”

“No, it’s about Sora…” At the sound of the brunette’s name, I felt my lungs constrict, my body stiffing at the sound of his name. I didn’t know what to expect really. What was going on….I was afraid of finding out. I guess this is what happens when you don’t play the game for a while either.  I swallowed roughly, resting my arms gently by my side.

“What happened to Sora?” I asked.

Namine faced me. I could only feel dread begin to build up in my systems as she spoke. The words were loud and clear but my mind seemed like it couldn’t comprehend it. No…..it couldn’t have been….was this for real? Or not?

“Sora’s memories have come to a full halt.”


	13. Skyfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, there he is.

Day 330

_**********************************_

_“Sora’s memories have come to a full halt”_

_“What!? How—what’s going to happen now?!”_

_“If we don’t correct what’s happening….she’s going to be destroyed”_

_“Wait what?! Who?!”_

_**********************************_

“Ha!” I slashed relentlessly in front of me, leaving deep cuts in the bark of the large, oak tree. I whirled around, fixing up on my footwork as I continued working on making a string of combo strikes. The more combo’s, the better of a chance I can finish a fight early. My eyes narrowed as I whirled around and stabbed the keyblade into the bark.

Endless training. That’s all I could do now.

I had to train on new moves while I had this moment of peace. When DiZ found out what happened to Sora, I can’t say for sure that he took the news lightly. All I remember is that he questioned about when his memory progression had stopped and when she answered his eye cast ahead; stiff and unreadable.

I flipped the blade back, catching the handle with the head of the key pointing behind me before hurling the keyblade forward. Watching hesitantly, it cut through the air vertically before angling and whirling—right past my intended target. My shoulders slumped when it horizontally boomeranged around the tree, not realizing quickly enough that it was heading towards me. My face exaggeratedly panicked as I ducked towards the ground, hearing it whiz above my head. The next second I heard the heavy thud of a tree branch falling not too far behind.

I groaned lightly, burying my face into the ground. Well, at least I made myself a place to sit.

I rubbed my neck roughly, curling my fingers through my hair and intertwining the strands through them. I took the initiative to go over and sit on the newly cut branch, the keyblade dug into the dirt a few feet behind it. I sighed heavily, resting my hands on my knees. That was a lousy training session.

Ever since Sora’s memories came to a complete halt, my anxiety nearly tipped over into a chaotic frenzy. Namine couldn’t do anything at this point for him, she’s tried everything that’s in her range of power. If she were to continue now, she would have to risk the chance that no one would remember who Sora was. That means my memories, Riku’s, even Kairi’s memories of him would be erased.

I didn’t want to do that to him, I knew that Namine could do it, we just need to give her more time. We had to figure something out, something to help Sora’s memories come back. If we don’t it may end up taking years to properly fix Sora’s memories.

We still have one more journey to handle—

I clamped my hands on my cheeks, groaning loudly in annoyance. Could I even handle when we jump into the Kingdom Hearts 2 setting, can I?!

I fiddled my hand into my pocket, shuffling in place till my phone was carefully in place, brushing along the cracked edges of the screen. I’ve been training for a few hours now, I should’ve already gotten this down by now. Well, can’t complain, I’ve been making progress.

I swung myself back onto my feet and held my hand out. Lights flickered and pulsed around my hand, materializing the heavenly keyblade to my possession.  “All right, here we go!”

The keyblade glowed loosely in my hand before I tossed it forward. It didn’t travel far, turning abruptly to the right, spinning around my body leaving trails of gold light as it whirled around. I stood straight with a passive stare as the keyblade spun, turning vertical as it formed into a sort of shield. I rested a hand on my chin, rubbing it gently. That’s not exactly what I wanted.

I rolled my eyes slightly, sighing somewhat in disappointment. Oh well, I suppose this could be a good defense move. It can act as offense too as long it stays spinning in a horizontal direction instead of vertical.

“New move you’re working on?”

I didn’t even have to turn around, knowing that cocky smirk of his was taking over. I rolled my eyes fully now, crossing my arms over my chest before nodding.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on it for the past couple of days.” I replied curtly.

The keyblade’s light flickered slightly causing my eyes to narrow. Looks like the move was going to end sooner than I expected. Riku strolled into view as he now stood a few feet away from me.

“Looks like you got something pretty good so far.” Riku acknowledged. I nodded slowly as my arms dropped to my sides.

“It doesn’t feel finish, like I’m missing something, you know?” I turned, quirking my lips.

The keyblade abruptly ricocheted towards, barely having enough time to drop to the ground, groaning from the impact. I pushed myself up from the ground, rubbing my forehead to find the keyblade was buried into the trunk of a tree. I slowly pointed towards the tree, my expression deadpanned.

“Also, have to work on that part. I don’t want to get impaled by my own weapon.” I complained. Riku strolled past me towards the tree, gripping the handle and removing it with ease. I rolled my eyes, kneeling up and brushing my coat off before standing.

“You know maybe it’s the fact that you’re afraid of catching it,” Riku exclaimed coolly.

“H-Hey!!! Not cool,” My cheeks flared as I stumbled on the next words that flew out my mouth, “Do you want to demonstrate how to catch a weapon when it’s coming to you at an angle like that?”

Riku chuckled, shaking his head before turning towards me fully, “Think fast.”

He tossed the keyblade over to me and I stumbled forward, barely making it to catch the blade. I sighed slightly in relief but stood up straight as he walked over to me.

“So what are you doing out here? I thought you were on another one of your little missions?” I questioned curiously, resting the head of the keyblade on the ground before using it like a cane.

“I finished the mission early,” Riku leaned against one of the trees nearby, shaking his head slightly, “Actually I came to tell you something.”

“Tell me something?” I repeated.

 “It’s about Flare” Riku continued. I slowly raised a brow, crossing my arms over my chest as took a few steps back to lean on the tree behind me.

“Okaaaaaaaaay” I drawled on, waving my hand in a circle while waiting for Riku to keep going.

“She’s gone,” My eyes widen slightly, actually finding that bit of news to be both random and surprisingly unbelievable.

“What do you mean ‘gone’?” I repeated, “Dead kind of gone or missing kind of gone?”

“She’s missing, disappeared off the face of the world she was doing a mission in. Her partner Luxord didn’t even notice she vanished. One minute she was there, another she was gone.” Riku explained further. I blinked wildly as I straightened myself out.

Flare’s gone missing? Is that even possible for a workaholic like her? I know she’s been acting a bit different lately but could this be possible???

“How did you even hear about this?” I decided to ask. Riku shifted slightly as he took a step away from the tree.

“Xigbar and Luxord were on a mission in Halloween Town together, they were discussing about it and placing bets on how long it would take Axel to find her. I thought you needed to know about it.” Riku explained.

My eyes dropped to the ground as I slowly kicked at the dirt. So Flare went total AWOL. Well, I will admit, I am very shocked right now. I held my chin in thought, rubbing it gently. Why would she leave like that? That’s basically suicide.

More importantly though, where did she go?

I scratched my neck nervously at the idea that she was out and about. Well….at least I know about this now rather than later when I may get a surprise visit from her and she flips out again. But really…I didn’t know what to make of it. The possibilities were mounting and I didn’t know if they applied to me or not. Hopefully they don’t. I rather not get involved with her dealings. Whatever she does is her problem, not mine. Keep telling that to yourself.

“Thanks for telling me Riku,” I drummed my fingers along my arm, gazing up to him, “I appreciate it.”

“You’re going to be careful?” Riku asked me. I raised a brow questionably at him when he began strolling off towards the opposite direction. “She did a good number on you the last time. I wouldn’t be surprised if she shows up again for round two.”

 “Riku, don’t worry. I think I’ll be able to handle it if worse comes to worst. All right?” I reassured him and offered a small smile. Riku stared at me for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly, running a hand through his hair.

“All right, then I’ll be heading out again.” Riku informed.

“When should I expect you back?”

“Not long, a day or two at most.” Riku responded. I hummed lowly before nodding and smiled, waving lightly at him when I saw him open up a dark portal. He stood tentatively before it but didn’t enter yet.

“Watch your back….I got a bad feeling about this,” Riku warned before he strolled into the darkness and the dark portal disappeared from behind.

I blinked a few times, rubbing my arm gently before sighing lowly and strolled off to the branch I sliced off. I rested my elbows on my knees, resting my chin on my intertwined hands and looked forward. My anxiety is not going to rest any time soon.  

“Let’s see what you have in store,” I muttered before running a hand through my hair, pushing it past my face.

I stood up slowly, gazing around the forest grounds before heading back to the mansion. I suppose I’ll start playing the game a bit more. I was drawing closer and closer to the end….I could only wonder….what else can possibly happen in this story?

**********************************

_\---Clock Tower---_

Xion sat upon the high Clock Tower by herself, her legs swaying over the side gently. It’s been about two or three weeks since she had been returned to Organization XIII. She remained awfully quiet about the events that had unfolded when she was brought back. She shut her eyes momentarily, blocking out the images that appeared in her mind and sighed shakily.

Xion was surprised she didn’t end up loathing Axel for what happened. She couldn’t blame him either. After what happened to her, she could’ve wondered what would’ve happened to Axel if he had failed to get her. He was her friend after all.  

She ran a hand through her short hair sighing shortly afterwards. But she couldn’t say that things were any better there then when she had ran away for advice from Riku and Michelle, confused and feeling absolutely hopeless about what she was getting herself into. No, something happened that many of the other members would’ve never expected to occur did.

Flare disappeared.

Luxord and Flare went on a mission to Wonderland, completed the mission without a hitch and when Luxord turned from creating the dark portal to RTC, she was gone. Vanished into thin air. He didn’t have a clue about her whereabouts and Saix ordered an extended search on each mission we went on to further explore the world to see if Flare was anywhere around. So far everyone has come up empty handed.

It’s so strange, why would Flare of all Nobodies run off like that?

Xion was never as close to Flare as Roxas and Axel are to her but the idea of someone like her running off was making her begin questioning everything again. It was also troubling….being on the other side of it, wondering and hoping that she would resurface again. 

Now some of the older members are keeping an eye on Xion, keeping a cautious eye on her, probably fearing that she may go after Flare herself. A duo like that would be able to hold back someone like Axel. So here she was, relaxing after a painful mission to destroy a rather tough heartless. Luckily enough she was paired with Demyx who really didn’t care for what Xion was going to do. He actually trusted her to head back to The World That Never Was. It was odd for Xion to hear that, especially after she herself had escaped from the Organization.

Xion remembered that Flare spoke with Demyx the morning before she disappeared and was scolding him on his laziness. That he was going to be pushed to do harder missions sooner or later and although they may be dangerous, he shouldn’t show his weak side.

After that, she left to speak to Saix, something to do with Castle Oblivion. A lengthy ten minute conversation from what Xigbar saw. He didn’t much of it but it looked to be really important if Saix was listening attentively. It was strange to think about it. The last words Flare said to some other members. It made it seem like she was intending on staying gone forever. Xion’s eyes narrowed as she rested her hands on her knees, gripping the material of her pants.

 “Number XIV?”

The hair on Xion’s neck rose as she suddenly felt goosebumps, her eyes widening in recognition of the voice. She swerved around, pulling herself closer to the actual foundation of the Clock Tower to look up and see a cloaked figure standing near her. The hood was pulled down to reveal the black hair that spilled only on one shoulder now, the other side seemed to have been cut off causing Xion’s eyes to widen and look into the blank, forest green eyes that belonged to Flare. Her face was bruised slightly, a couple scratches scattered around her cheeks and forehead and from what she could see on her neck.

“Flare….” Xion could only repeat, rubbing her eyes once to make sure she wasn’t imaging things. Flare stared at her with a raised brow.

“Clearly. It seems you’re here alone today.” Flare noted, gazing at the empty space around them before looking to Xion for confirmation. Xion’s eyes widen momentarily before darting around. Roxas and Axel were assigned difficult solo missions so they weren’t expected to return until later in the evening.

 “Do you mind if I accompany you here today then?” Flare decided to ask.

“Accompany me?” Xion repeated.

Flare coughed into her fist, scratching her temple as she rested the other hand on her hip, “Sorry for being so formal, what I’m trying to ask if you don’t mind I sit here as well?”

Xion blinked a few times in disbelief before nodding slowly in agreement and Flare smiled softly. Xion moved over slightly and Flare sat beside her, her eyes set forward towards the sunset. Xion couldn’t help but stare at the Nobody superior. She seemed so relax, it didn’t fit with her normal self. The overall feeling that radiated from her was unsettling Flare adjust herself causing Xion to raise a brow slightly then her eyes widen when Flare held out a Sea-Salt ice cream for her.

Xion blinked a few times in disbelief before gently taking the ice cream from her, “Thank you”

Flare and Xion sat side by side, slowly eating the sea-salt ice cream. Flare's eyes stared passively towards the horizon of the sun. Xion stopped eating her ice cream and turned to Flare curiously.

“Flare, where have you been?” Xion decided to ask.

Flare’s lips quirked to the side as she rubbed her neck gently, “I—went off to recollect myself.”

“Flare, you’ve been gone for more than five days! We’ve looked in nearly every single world possible!” Xion exclaimed. Flare stared off towards the sunset before shaking her head slowly.

“It wasn’t exactly a world to be precise that I was lost in. I ended up in this unknown realm filled with nothing but darkness and heartless…..”

 “That sounds horrible…” Xion murmured and Flare nodded.

“Yes, that’s how I lost this,” Flare brought two of her fingers to graze past the right side of her face, brushing the shortened locks, “I was careless, I squandered my magic to the brink and now I’m left here with wounds galore.” Flare traced her fingers along her cheek and winced slightly.

Xion’s eyes widen and she quickly turned, holding the ice cream in one hand while the other scavenged through her cloak. She pulled out a bottle from her cloak and handed it to Flare. Flare stared at the bottle carefully, raising a brow to Xion but the blue eyed Nobody egged it on.

“It’s an Elixir. Please take it,” Xion insisted. Flare opened her mouth slightly but shut it close and quietly took the bottle from her. She set the bottle to the side and took another bite of her ice cream while Xion stared at her again questionably.

“So, does that mean you’re going to be coming back soon?” Xion asked tentatively.

Flare stopped eating her ice cream, her lips quirking to the side, “I do not intend to return to the Organization.”

“What?” Xion asked, raising a brow. Flare nodded slowly as Xion sat up, her eyes widening in shock. “There’s something I have to do…..” Flare explained. Xion slowly shook her head as she tried to make sense of it. The way she was saying this it sounded like she wasn’t going to be coming back any time soon. Or that she was never coming back.

“Flare, maybe I could help! Or maybe Roxas or Axel can—” Flare held up a hand causing Xion to halt in her reasoning and look at her with a questionable look.

“It’s something I must do along Xion. The consequences are too high already, I rather not drag anyone but myself into this.”

“Consequences…?” Xion murmured, facing forward. She was beginning to slowly nod her head, finally understanding what was really going on. The strange antics, the strange behaviors, her loss of control, something was much deeper involved with this.

“Does this have to do with your memories?” Xion questioned lowly. Flare didn’t meet her stare, slowly biting into the frosty desert in her hand. Flare stared off into the sunset, blinking slowly. Xion stared at her, her expression softening. 

“I know you said your memories have become strange and foreign. That doesn’t mean Michelle knows though, Flare. Maybe—maybe they got thrown in their by mistake—”

“Xion! Please!” Flare raised her voice firmly, her teeth clenched. Xion hushed immediately, her grip upon the popsicle growing.  Flare straightened herself up, her eyes widening by a fraction. She groaned lightly, rubbing her forehead as she slowly shook her head.

“I apologize for the outburst. I know you’re concerned, but these memories—these memories are not fake. They’re—they’re twisted and brutal, almost unimaginable. I wish I had never remembered these memories, I wish they were never pieced together.” Flare placed her hands over her nose, inhaling before exhaling shakily.

“These visions, these hallucinations, they’re going to kill me or worse,” Flare’s voice cracked slightly, looking towards the sunset. Xion stared at her and Flare shook her head, slowly pulling her legs from over the ledge and brought them to her side. She slowly stood up as Xion turned to face her, watching as she placed the hood over her head.

“Flare—”

“Xion, thank you,” Flare interrupted, “For listening to me and being what you would say a friend. I am truly sorry for my involvement with Castle Oblivion.”

Xion merely watched as Flare stood up, brushing the ends of her coat, her gaze casting longingly towards the sunset. The 14th member frowned, looking down towards her knees.

“Flare, you know you can fight. You can’t give up,” Xion admitted gently. Flare stared at her for a few minutes before laughing softly, shaking her head.

“Xion, good luck to you in your endeavors. I can only hope you can continue to fight for your own right to live. Perhaps we’ll meet up in another life.” Flare remarked lowly.

Flare turned to look out towards the sunset, taking one last, longing view before turning on her heel, green eyes dimmed as it faded into the shadow of her hood. She began walking and turned around the corner of the tower. Xion bit her lip and hurriedly stood up, rushing to the corner for one last attempt to try and talk her out of it. It sounded reckless, it wasn’t what Flare would do. Xion rounded the corner only for her shoulders to slump, finding Flare had disappeared without a trace. Xion’s eyes dropped to the ground. One more member disappearing into the night.

**********************************

Original POV

I curled against the mahogany bedframe, my legs propped up against it while my back rested against the bed. I was using the Organization coat as a pillow for the moment while my hair was wrapped around in a towel, still drying from the shower. My eyes remained focused on the screen, smashing the buttons crazily of the DS. The rest of the world didn’t seem to even exist right now. The urge to know what was going to happen was killing my soul. At this point I was coming to an end of a chapter and the questions still lined up.

How did Roxas end up defecting from Organization XIII?

How does Xion fit into all of this and where does she go?

What’s going to happen to Flare, Xion, Riku, Sora, Namine?

What’s going to happen to me?

I paused the game momentarily, breathing uneasily through my nose. I was becoming so anxious, I thought the training would’ve helped but it really hasn’t. I ran my hand through my hair, letting my fingers tangle through the dark locks before I dropped my arms back and sighed. The thoughts were tanglized in my head, wrecking my nerves and hope that things were going to get better. I really need to stop over-thinking about these dreading thoughts.

 “Heheheheh….” I laughed nervously, resting the D.S on my face. I sighed once more before I un-paused the game and continued playing. Apparently Xion would come back to us around Day 350 or something around there. Great, we’re almost coming around to an entire year now.

We’re reaching the end but i’m still wondering why the title of this game is 358/2 days. What’s going to happen on 358? What the heck does a / and 2 even fit with this. And 2 more days after that?

I rubbed my temple, pressing the A-button to hurry along the dialogue that Riku and Xion were having at the moment and continued forward. Great, back as Roxas. Another pointless mission to who knows where. Most likely to Wonderland because it’s either always Wonderland or Beast’s Castle. I began to skip through boring Saix ranting monologue, I could hear the curtains rattle as the wind began to pick up outside.

I blinked a few times as I began to feel a draft enter the room. I gazed down at the screen, looking at the twisted, wondrous colors that belonged to Wonderland with Roxas standing in the maze that would probably drive me crazy….but it looks like that was going to be a later time. I exhaled uneasily, shaking my head gently before I saved and shut the game off, closing the D.S. Strolling over to the windows, I gently shut them close before pulling the curtains together. It looked a bit windy today, strange. The weather never really changes here in Twilight Town so why is the wind picking up all the sudden?

I unrolled the towel from my hair, shaking it out when I heard a loud bang. My eyes shot towards the door and I carefully began to make my way over to it, gently turning the knob and peeked outside. When I saw no one, I decided to step out fully, looking around. That’s when the door to the Library opened and DiZ stepped out, nearly causing me to jump up, startled.

 “A presence is in the woods, heading towards this mansion!” DiZ suddenly announced loudly causing me to jolt in place.

“What?! Ugh, I’m on it!” I called out immediately, spinning to grab the door knob. That’s when my eyes widen, beginning to suspect who it might’ve been.

“Please let it be Xaldin,” I begged, rushing into my room and reached for my coat off the bed, “You know, a tornado would be fine! I don’t have to fight a tornado if that’s the case.”

I quickly got into the outfit, tying my hair up before hastily shutting the door. I rushed down the stairs, swinging open the doors and rushed to the gate. No one was out here yet. I scanned around before making sure the gate was properly locked up before I decided to head into the woods. With my keyblade in hand, my eyes wandered around, my stance cautious with every step I took. I do not like how this situation is setting up for me right now. I breathed in and out carefully as I entered into the dense part of the forest.

Okay….DiZ wouldn’t freak out over nothing and give me a false-alarm. So—what was out here?

“Good to see you again, Michelle.”

The hair on my neck stood up as my entire body shook, my eyes widening in recognition. Damn it, damn it. Why couldn’t it have been a tornado…?

I slowly turned around, my eyes meeting the hooded veiled member.

“Yeah, nice to see you too Flare.”

 “Hello there,” The smile on her face was curt but twisted causing me to gulp gently at the sight of it.

Definitely what I feared would happen ended up actually happening. I don’t know why I didn’t expect that to happen. I had a horrible feeling Flare was going to appear. Ever since Riku mentioned it to me and told me to watch my back. Now that she is here, with a twisted smile and silence that follows, my anxiety is kicking in. Probably more so that I’m getting scared since I don’t know what Flare is even here for.

What could she possibly want now?

I gulped again as she stood by the stone entrance that would lead to Twilight Town, near the edge of the where the shadow of the trees above met the light of day. I watched her cautiously as she opened her arms to each side.  

“What a delightful surprise I would find you out here,” Flare remarked joyously in a sarcastic manner.

Already the sarcasm begins.

I rolled my eyes, biting back on my tongue to prevent any snaps at her. That’s all she wants to fuel her superior ego she has going on. I brought my keyblade out, holding it up threatening towards her direction and narrowed my eyes.

“Why are you here Flare?” I demanded. Even from the veil of her hood I can see a grin forming along her lips she started to……chuckle?

My eyes widen, hearing the malicious chuckle sing from her lips and she had to press her fist to her lips to suppress the chuckles.

“Oh can’t we simply chat? That’s all I want to do” Flare mused, chuckling once more.

That chuckle from the few that I’ve heard radiate from Flare, those didn’t match the one she admitted at all. This one sounded incredibly dark, possessive even. I shivered, extremely becoming uncomfortable.  I stared at Flare for a few more seconds before lowering the keyblade slightly down.

“All right, what do you want Flare? You’re lucky—”

“I’m lucky that you haven’t attacked me yet, that’s what you were going to say right?” Flare interrupted, another dark chuckle escaping, “You’re lucky that I didn’t attack you is more like it. I had so many open opportunities so far” Flare continued. I stared at her in disbelief as she smirked, crossing her arms.

Okay, now she’s gone beyond the levels of creepy. She is completely not herself. This isn’t Flare, this is not how Flare has been in the past. I want to leave but I have to get rid of her from here. I narrowed my eyes, clenching my teeth gently as I raised the keyblade back up defensively. Flare smirked at my behavior and waved her hand.

“Anyways, I needed to speak to you” Flare exclaimed, eyeing the clearing around us.

“About what…?” I asked slowly, eyeing her as she began to walk to the right.

“About my memories…” She answered cryptically.

I blinked a few time, raising a brow at the unexpected conversation that was probably going to come from this. She’s never mentioned anything of her memories to me before. I turned slightly to face her fully as she began to stroll around, her arms crossed behind her back. Why do I matter about her memories?

“I was born into this world with the memories of my former life. Yet along the end, bits of pieces had disappeared, a blur canvas along the painted stream of memories. I never cared for them truth be told. I was reinvented, a phoenix born again from the ashes of old.” She exclaimed.

“Okay, so why are you telling me this?” I pushed, watching as she continued to walk around aimlessly, “What does this have to do with me?”

“You showed up.” I tensed when she stopped, her head snapping towards my direction.  

“You showed up at Castle Oblivion.” Flare phrased carefully, “I didn’t think of it then, but after we parted ways, I started to see these—twists in my memories. Cracks, walls tumbling and revealing unscripted circumstances, what I thought I had known was all but a lie. All these details, these menacing details I should have known were revealed—then the true nightmare began.”

 “Nightmares?” I repeated lowly. That’s when she jumped, throwing her fists out towards my direction.

 “Nightmares! Hallucinations, illusions, horrors that could only plague the mind when you shut your eyes for one moment!”  She shouted, sounding completely apprehensive causing me to take a step back.

I’m pretty sure DiZ wouldn’t mind if I completely abandoned this mission right about now. I gently took a step back as I watched her cautiously. I guess I need to time and make my escape when the time is right. Hopefully I’ll be able to get away with it. I know DiZ will probably flip on me but right now I rather take his shouting while I have a chance to contact Riku.

“I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t afford to be consumed by what’s lurking within my memories, within my being. It—It’s changing me,” Her voice drew to a whisper, her hands reaching to clutch the front of her coat, gripping into fists, “You’ve seen it personally already.”

My brows furrowed, trying to understand her cryptic sentences. That’s when my eyes widen, thinking back to the day Axel and Roxas were trying to take Xion back. When Xion and I had crossed paths with Flare, the brutality in her strength, the rage that filled her eyes. I took another step, my shoulder brushing against the tree when I heard her continue her little lament.

“That was only the beginning. Illusions were no longer such, the nightmare was no longer fictional, and then…..” She paused, her breathing growing shaky, “You can’t even begin to fathom how it’s been like after that—” She trailed off, her back beginning to turn towards me when I gently took another step back. I rolled my eyes gently, noticing that this was properly a good time to escape right now.

“Right, I can really imagine how bad it’s been for you.” I murmured, biting my tongue lightly. That might have come out more sarcastic then I expected.

Something didn’t seem right about this. Flare was never open about anything. Unlike Axel who might’ve mentioned something nonchalantly once in a while, Flare would never speak a word of her past. I can’t tell if this is real or not.

Right now I’m going to listen to my conscious and say it’s not real. She’s trying to trick me into something stupid.  I continued taking steps back, resting my hand against the tree as I moved away as silently as I can. I clenched my teeth gently, feeling my heart pang lightly. Even if this might’ve been a ruse, the strain in her voice sounded painful.

I shut my eyes briefly, my hand curling into a fist as it dragged against the wood when I suddenly heard something and I picked my head up to find—wait. She’s not there anymore. My eyes widen as I darted my eyes around. Where the hell did Flare go?

“I don’t think you understand what I mean—” Her voice echoed causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand, my eyes widening. I swung around to find Flare was behind me and I leaped back a few feet, holding my keyblade up defensively. I clenched my teeth tightly as I began to she was beginning to take a couple steps forward. She stepped out from the shadows of the trees, the wind picking up in speed causing my hair to blow wildly in my face.

“I don’t think you understand at all….” Flare’s voice echoed.

I pushed a few wild strands back behind my ear and stared at Flare. She stopped a few feet away from me and gripped her hood firmly. She pulled the hood down, allowing the right side of her hair to fall to her shoulders as my eyes began to widen. Her hair on the right side seemed to roughly be cut to a length that can be comparably to Xion’s.

“Fl-Flare, you are freaking me out right now,” I snapped,  

Bloodshot, faded green eyes stared back at me as she grimaced. Now….I think I was getting a better idea of what was exactly going on. What the hell…..the presence…..it feels like…she’s been engulfed by darkness completely. A darkness that seemed to leech further in the depths then one she had prior. Looks like whatever life she had in her was being sucked away. She looked like she was reaching her brink.

“Like what you see? Well, this is the result of that whole story I told you” Flare explained. I scanned her face briefly once again, taken aback by the gruesome details.

“I’m holding onto the end of the rope, barely by a thread right now. I’m hardly able to keep myself in control right now. I believe though—I’ve found a way to cease it,” Her words trailed off as the wind slowly began to pick up once again.

I lifted the keyblade up defensively as the wind began to pick up speed and the leaves were beginning to get blown off the tree and carried through the wind. I don’t like where this is heading what’s so ever. My eyes narrowed as Flare lifted her arm up, her palm opened out towards my direction as she stared at me.

“So what’s the way?” I demanded cautiously.

 “You could guess what it is…..” The words echoed throughout the wind as I gritted my teeth gently together. Her eyes narrowed as a gust began to flow into the area, the trees and bushes rustling as leaves began to swirl around her palm. The rod appeared in her hand, the leaves blowing around her in all sorts of directions as she swung the rod around her skillfully. Her eyes flashed from green to blue momentarily before they fully stayed green as she took a battle ready position. I shook my head roughly, groaning in annoyance.

“How is getting rid of me going to change anything for you?!” I shouted loudly at her. She narrowed her eyes, swinging her rod around as the wind picked up.

“Fight with honor, finish me if you expect to live,” Her teeth clenching tightly against each other, her eyes watering in pain, “Right now you rather face me then _him._ ”

Him?  

I sighed angrily, shutting my eyes tightly while I shook my head. The insanity of this all. I knew I should’ve listened to Riku. I knew I should’ve taken Flare out the moment I saw her. Now I know I have no choice in fighting. I sighed lowly once again, straightening my body out as I raised my keyblade defensively.

 “Same rules?” I demanded. She looked at me solemnly before slowly nodding as my chest constricted and I uneasily breathed out.

Silence followed afterwards as she twirled her rod around in her hands. I kept a tight grip on my keyblade, watching for the moment she was going to strike. And that came all too soon. Flare twirled her rod, gusts of wind forming alongside her as leafs began materializing in the gust. Flare directed the gust downwards and I could only tell it was heading right for me was the leaves that followed in the wind. I rolled out the way, hiding behind a tree and just barely dodged the wind. I could hear the leaves slice into the bark and I gazed up when I began to notice how deep the cuts were. This tree wasn’t going to last that long. I grit my teeth, leaping out of the way when the tree was suddenly sliced apart.

I stumbled against the ground, gripping the grass and picked up my head to barely see a thick branch falling and I rolled out the way, hearing the tree branch thud loudly against the ground. Jeez. I stood up looking over to see Flare rush towards my direction, her eyes narrowed as she leaped up into the air, blasting several cuts of wind directly at me. I slashed forward, cutting off the first blast of air before slamming my feet into the ground when her rod smashed against my blade. The force of the impact literally cracked the ground underneath me. I gritted my teeth tightly as I made eye-contact with her. They were flickering back and forth between their natural green and those unusual blue. Her grip on her rod was iron tight as she leaned forward, the force making me begin to shake. 

My knees began to bend as the wind began to pick up, my hair flying wildly in my face. I clenched my teeth as I forced myself to take a step forward and hurl her backwards. Flare flipped effortlessly in the air, twirling around before landing on her feet. I took a few steps back, gazing down to the cracked grounds as my eyes widen. Damn it, she’s stronger than ever. Holy crap, how can the ground crack from her simply attacking me with her rod?!

I stepped back, aiming the keyblade directly towards Flare as she spun her rod once again and the direction of the wind being altered towards where I stood now.

“Fire strike!” I yelled, winding up my arm and once I had a good opening.

I threw my keyblade, watching as the flames came alive along the blade and handle and watched as it spun horizontally in the air. Flare never moved as it was flying directly towards making me wonder what was going to happen first but I remembered that this seemed all too familiar. Seconds before it came right at her, she spun on her heel, her silver rod beginning to illuminate lightly causing my eyes to widen. That looks like a new move….and I don’t like how this may end up. I snapped my hand back, the keyblade disappeared in mid-air but the flames still shot out towards Flare when she swung forward with a loud yell. Before I knew it I was being hurled into the air, the entire forest being rocked by the sudden tornado like gales. Wait, it actually was a mini tornado!

Branches scratched against my face as I was hurled dis-proportionally in midair as I tried to make sense of where the heck I was exactly going. I’m being tossed around like Dorothy’s house inside the tornado with Flare acting as the Witch of the West controlling this madness. I smacked into a tree branch but grabbed hold of it, wrapping my legs tightly around it as I buried my head against it, waiting for the moment the gales would die down. I dug my nails into bark as the wind didn’t give up, relentlessly slashing at me from all directions. I needed a way to end this move somehow but what!?!

What can stop a tornado?!?

Oh wait.

“Aeroga!” I yelled loudly over the hollering wind.

My hand was shaking wildly when I felt the fresh breeze admit from my palm. The sudden burst of air that came around me collided with the winds that blew, opposite forces clashing with each other causing the tornado to break away.  I gasped for air, sighing shakily in relief as I rested my forehead on the branch but quickly the moment was ruined when I felt the branch crack underneath me.

Oh no, this is not my day.

I instantly jumped off the branch, catching onto a thick branch behind and looked back to see the branch fall down to the ground below. I blinked wildly a few times, wiping my brow as I panted heavily. Flare’s strength was off the charts at the moment. She wasn’t able to cast a tornado like spell with leaves spiking at every direction. Jeez, the whole area affected by it was almost ripped away from all the leaves. I narrowed my eyes as I stood up straight and gazed towards the ground.

Now where did she go?

My eyes darted around as I tried to find where the heck Flare could’ve went. She couldn’t have really been moving through that tornado could she? How strong has she been getting?

As I took a step forward to lean over and further look around, the entire tree shook violently and I gazed down to see Flare swinging back before striking against the tree causing it to shake once more.

“Oh you’ve GOT to be kidding me!” I snapped loudly, gripping the body of the tree as it shook violently once more. That’s when I heard a snap and my eyes widen when I felt the tree begin to sway forward. Oh great. THAT’S JUST GREAT.

“Crap!” I snapped loudly and leaped off the tree, barely catching a branch as the tree fell to the ground.

I hanged in midair, gripping onto that branch with all the strength I had. I twisted wildly in the air, snapping my attention down to see Flare swinging her rod around, the leaves beginning to spin wildly around her as I caught notice of her azure stare and I clenched my teeth. Now she’s on full blast and I’m literally a hanging target. Flare spun with maddening elegance before pointing her rod at me causing my eyes to widen. I snapped my attention down to the ground then towards her when I inhaled deeply and pointed my free hand towards the ground.

 “Blizzaga!” I cried out.

Immediately ice began to pile and curved towards the ground, I decided to let go of the branch. Free-falling for about ten seconds, the ice curved against my back and I slid against my back towards the safety of the ground before I positioned myself to skid against the ice and I held my hand out.

“Blizzaga!” I shouted again, this time several large shards of ice shot from the ground towards Flare.

 She barely dodged the first one while the second and third caught hold of her Organization coat, getting pinned to the trunk of the tree near her. I rushed forward, leaping upon one of the ice shards and charged towards Flare while she struggled with her clothes. I swung the keyblade at her but she blocked roughly with her left arm. I parried several of her attempted attacks when I smacked against her arm causing her to gasp sharply.

I raised the keyblade up, ready to freaking knock her out when she suddenly pulled her right arm away from the icicle, ripping the sleeve of her coat and cutting her arm. She swung her rod down to the ice causing a large blast of air to hurl me backwards. I landed back on the ground, skidding slightly when I looked up to see the ice shattering into several pieces into the air with Flare twirling the rod above her head as the leafs began to appear by her side. I gritted my teeth and charged forward as she directed the blast of wind towards my direction. Not this time, I have you now. I raised the keyblade up, whirling it back before tossing it forward. The keyblade whipped through the air and cut through her winds causing Flare to reel back, blocking the keyblade from hitting her and disrupting the wind entirely.

That was exactly what I needed.

“Thundaga!”

The lightning struck her exactly where she was causing her to shout in pain as my keyblade returned back to my possession. This is exactly what I needed. She landed on the ground roughly, gripping her sides when I charged at her, not giving her a second to recover from the lightning strike.

“HA!” I smashed the keyblade at her causing her to reel back, snapping sharply in pain but I connected attacking her, slash after slash, relentless combo’ing her in many successions till I finished it off with swinging the keyblade against her stomach and she zipped through the air only to hit a trunk of a tree.

I panted heavily as I landed on my feet and stared directly at where was, curled against the tree while gripping her arm tightly. My eyes narrowed as I walked over towards where she was, beginning to see that she was picking herself from the ground, using the tree as support. I stopped a few feet away from her, panting lightly before I swallowed roughly and pointed the keyblade towards her.

“Flare, I’m giving you one chance. Get out of here now or else I’ll end you here right now.” I warned steely, my eyes hardening. Flare shakily scoffed, spitting at the ground as she fully stood up, gripping onto the trunk of the tree as she heavily panted.

“This fight…isn’t over. I told you to finish me off if you want to live,” Flare panted, wiping the corner of her mouth. My eyes narrowed and I took another step forward causing her to glare at me.

“Flare, whatever your memories are showing you,” I paused, clenching my teeth, “It can’t be real. I didn’t know you in the past—trust me.”  That’s when I low growl causing me to stop, looking up to see Flare glaring at me with full intensity.

“You were there though! You were!” She snarled loudly. I glared at her, taking another step forward, hitting my hands against my chest. “How was I there then!?”

“Because you’re my sister!” She snapped.

My whole body froze instantly at the revelation, my eyes widening to the size of plates. No—no that couldn’t be true.

“What did you say?” I demanded aggressively.

Her eyes darkened as she gripped the bark of the tree. I almost dropped my guard as I searched across her face. She had to be lying. I only had one older sister and one older brother, no, she couldn’t be my older sister. She breathed heavily as her eyes settled back to normal, her green eyes staring at me.  My body shook as I continued staring at her, looking at her face and trying to make comparisons between my older sibling and her. She did look like my sister but I know something felt different. Her jaw was similar and her hair seemed almost as thick as mine, but the way her eyes and nose were shaped—she was half.  

 “You look so much like her, but I know, you’re not her. Now I know better,” Flare clenched her teeth dangerously, “Why do you look like her….what are you then?”

I stared at Flare for a long time before I slowly shook my head. This was painful. I don’t know how she was able to tell that I’m not the real Michelle from this universe…..but she deserves to know the truth. Well, the somewhat truth to this.

I narrowed my eyes, looking down at my feet and sighed gently.

“Flare…..I can only confirm that I’m not your sister” I paused, looking up to stare sympathetically her, “I don’t know where she is either. I’m not from this universe, I’m not the Michelle _you know._ ” I finished, darting my eyes around gently. Yeah…not going to really press on with that.

Flare stared at me for a good moment before scoffing loudly, shaking her head, “Finish me off then”

I snapped my attention back to her, narrowing my eyes. “What! I said I wouldn’t—”

“There’s no time to argue about this! You have to finish me off!”

“But Flare—”

“Finish me off before _he_ comes.” Flare begged gently before resting her head against the tree, “Please…end this suffering”

I gazed at her sadly, clenching my teeth at the request she was throwing at me. I don’t think I can take out anyone else, after what happened in Castle Oblivion. I exhaled shakily as she snapped her attention back over at me, her forest green eyes narrowing. I began walking over to her, raising the keyblade till I was directly in front of her. The keyblade was point towards the back of her neck while her face rested against the tree, shutting her eyes gently as she breathed raggedly.

I shut my eyes tightly and continued moving the keyblade back. I can’t believe I’m doing this. I don’t think I can look at this right now. Get it over with, finish her off, she asked for it. I exhaled shakily, raising the keyblade higher, holding the handle with both my hands.

“I’m sorry…” I murmured softly.

I breathed uneasily before I slammed the keyblade down, hearing a sickening crack moments later sending shivers down my entire body. I bit my lip hard, feeling the iron begin to trickle down. I couldn’t look, I didn’t want to see what I had done.

“Heh…hehe…”

The laughter continued to echo across the forest as I opened my eyes, inhaling shakily. I turned my head slowly, seeing that I didn’t strike Flare’s neck at all. She was holding it in the palm of her hand. Her bangs shielded her face from me yet I can still feel the wickedness that admitted from her.

“Flare?”

Flare smiled impishly as my eyes widen in horror, looking at her palm, watching as the blood seeped down her gloved palms before tugging at my keyblade, trying to get it back from her grasp, “…Nice try, kid.”

I struggled for another minute before Flare twisted the keyblade in my grip causing me to yelp, my hand getting tangled with the handle. I felt tears slip down my cheeks, trying to keep in the pain that she was creating, hoping she wasn’t ready to snap my hand right off.

 “Aww, trying to do a good deed by trying to get rid of this chick?” Flare mused, her eyes still shut closed. “Real nice try, almost got away with it too—but I managed to crack her before you did.” I stared at Flare in disbelief, staring at the wicked grin that twisted on her lips. This isn’t Flare at all.

“What the hell! Let me go, bastard!” I shouted, wrenching the keyblade to the other side causing Flare to smirk. The blade only twisted once more, smacking the handle to my jail, forcing me to hiss, now focused once more on my wrist feeling the pressure on it growing.

“You asked for it!” Flare swung the keyblade and a gale of air burst forward before slamming into me, hurling me into the tree behind me.

I gasped loudly, sliding against the tree till I rested upon the ground. I groaned in pain, gripping my chest as I shakily looked up seeing she was fully back on her feet with her hair cloaking her eyes.  My eyes widen in horror as she lifted her head with crimson orbs watching me, the forest green forever gone. I shivered, watching as she walked forward, tossing the keyblade towards my feet.

“W-What are you?” I demanded.

The being smirked, a dark sword beginning to materialize in her hand, “The name is Orfeo, kid. Memorize it quick cause there’s a good chance it’s going to be the last name you’ll ever learn.”


	14. Full Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, I did it again. All them chit chatty chat.

“W-what are you?”

“The name is Orfeo, kid. Memorize it quick cause there’s a good chance it’s going to be the last name you’ll ever learn.”

The keyblade clinked against the overthrown rocks and dirt that piled several feet away from myself. The snap of the being’s wrist sent waves of darkness towards my direction, forcing myself to scramble forward for the keyblade. I hurled into a summersault, getting pushed over into a roll when the attacks barely missed behind. I coughed into my sleeve, turning in place to find the being stride forward, confident in every step.

 “So who are you _, keyblade wielder_?” The being demanded. I gritted my teeth, striking the keyblade to Flare’s possessor, earning a devilish smirk in return.

“You think I’m scared of that dull blade?” She raised the sword, flashing it upon the rays of light that flickered within the dark woods, “Let’s see who has the sharper blade.”

The minute I was going to comment, she suddenly disappeared in a flash. I leapt to a defensive stance, the keyblade shielding the left side as I studied the surroundings. Whoever this demon was, it seemed clearly male and knew about keybladers too. Where the did he—

A split second passed when I winced, brushing my cheek with the back of my palm. Blood shined upon the back of the glove and my eyes widen in shock. Next my sleeve ripped open, streams of blood seeping in thin lines as I spun around, trying to find where the hell he was. He was blindingly fast if he’s managing to attack me like this!

“Reflega!” The sound of hundreds of strikes against the shield thundered as I held my hands up, hoping I could hold out the barrage of attacks. I winced, feeling the strain of forcing the spell longer than I should when I began to catch sight of Flare’s wild movements, slashing heavily against the shield in powerful strokes.

The shield shattered upon my hands and I stumbled back, not expecting the salvo of attacks to pursue. That’s when I suddenly felt the wind knocked out of my gut causing me to hunch over, the keyblade falling out of my grasp. A hand constricted around my throat and hoisted me up into the air, pinning firmly against a tree. I gripped the wrist tightly with both hands, swinging my legs aimlessly in the air as I gasped painfully. The gloved hand in return gripped tightly along my jaw, forcing my head to turn to the side. Crimson orbs narrowed, the being humming observingly, forcibly turning my head to the other side.

“Where have I seen you before?” Orfeo mumbled.

He twisted my face to the other side roughly again. I bit my tongue and clench my teeth from the pain, inhaling deeply before I rammed my foot into her abdomen. She continued staring at me, not even flinching as I kicked her once again.

“Tickles” She murmured sarcastically causing my eyes to widen.

The grip on my jaw was tightening to the point where I could feel her nails through her leather gloves dig into my skin. I gasped unconsciously, gripping tightly on her wrist to try scratching myself away from her. Those red eyes seemed to peer straight into my soul and I did not appreciate that at all. The crimson eyes widen for a moment then sharpen dangerously, the grip on my jaw increasing. A snarl escaped from Flare’s lips, a hatred seeping from the core of the possessor.

‘If he kept this up, he would freaking break my jaw. I need to come up with something—oh!’

I forced my head to turn so I can get to face her directly when I boldly spat at her face. She stared unresponsively at me, adjusting her grip on my jaw causing me to grin in success.

“Sorry about that,” I gasped, taking a better hold of her sleeves, “It got your attention though, I needed that shift.” I forced down Flare’s sleeve to reveal the bare skin and gripped my hand tightly over it.

“BLIZZAGA!” I snapped angrily.

The icy sensation rose immediately within, shooting through my veins and flowered upon Flare’s wrist. Orfeo removed his grip upon me and leapt back, an icy coating continuing to travel briefly up her arm. I landed on my feet but immediately bent backwards, holding my palms flat out on the ground when I kicked her chin. I cartwheeled backwards and gasped loudly, gripping my jaw as I took to account on how much it hurt right about now.

‘Damn, a few more seconds and I’m sure he would’ve torn my head off.’ I shivered violently, rubbing my thumb and index finger along my jaw.

The glance from possessor was vicious, the crimson orbs alit with a passionate anger. Her brows furrowed, yet a wicked smiled formed instead. Slowly a dark chuckle rang from her lips before she fully began laughing sinisterly. Shivers ran down my spine as I could feel goosebumps form all over.

“Fu—hahahaha!” She couldn’t even finish the sentence as she bubbled into laughing fit, holding a hand over her eyes as she laughed loudly to the sky. I grimaced as I began to feel uneasy about this. I don’t like where this is heading, I have to get out of here and now!

“Now I recognize that face! The little thief grew up!” Orfeo remarked vibrantly and my whole system shut down at that very second. She rubbed her jaw roughly and pressed a hand to her arm, keeping the ice from traveling any further up as I stared at her in horror.  I couldn’t move, I couldn’t feel my heart beating, I couldn’t feel anything but petrifying shock. How did this person know that about me?

Nobody use to know I use to steal when I was a little kid. Only Donald has an idea that I may be one when I stared at the treasures in the Cave of Wonders in pure awe and took a few of his earnings when he won a game against the Lost Boys.

Orfeo took a few steps forward, the devilish smile forming once again as I took a step back.

“The irony really, the one person that tried protecting you back then is the one that’s trying to murder you now.” He mused causing my eyes to widen, the shiver appearing once more. So Flare was really the other Michelle’s half sister. Oh god, what the heck happened in the past here?!

“What are you talking about?!” I demanded once again.

Orfeo took another step forward, smirking. “What’s the name, Shelley, Mitchie, no, Michelle right?”

I swallowed, avoiding the glance when Flare twisted smile only grew wider, “See, I know who you are—don’t you remember?”

“I don’t know who the heck you are!” I flashed the keyblade defensively forward, sneering, “I’m not related to Flare, I’m not even from here. Sure, you got my name right but I can tell you this. You have the wrong Michelle.”

The being stood their momentarily, suddenly when he began to walk forward. I didn’t know how to breathe at the moment, my body was shaking at the mere presence of the darkness that was leaking out from this body. Whoever this man was, I’m afraid of what his actual personification was. If he was this strong by merely possessing Flare, how much stronger could be if he was acting on his own terms. Those red eyes darted around, examining my face and gazed down momentarily before staring back up.

“Oh, I see now,” A small grin began to form on her lips, tracing a gloved finger along Flare’s cheek, “I remember now, the other Michelle was left with a deep cut, right here,” She dragged her finger from her cheek bone down to her jaw, grinning all the while at the gesture.

“So you’re not her, the irony. I’m /so/ enjoying this brief moment of freedom. This was worth all those years now locked up.”  The wickedness that radiated from him boiled my own blood as I stepped back, shifting my stance, holding the keyblade across my body.

“It looks like it,” I sneered lowly.

Orfeo smirked, moving her hand away to cup her chin, stroking it gently as Flare's head tilted.

“Well, this is an unexpected turn of events,” Orfeo used her free hand to pat my head, suddenly smiling when I retracted away, glaring, “I can’t kill you just because you look like her.”

Even though Orfeo was smiling, she cringed, groaning softly and shook her head roughly.

“All right, so how about we make a deal then?” Orfeo mused. I stared at the possessed Flare in pure disbelief, shaking my head wildly and began to take a few steps backwards.

“You must be freaking crazy if you believe I would make a deal with someone like you, especially after you nearly strangled me!” I retorted bewilderedly.

Orfeo rolled his eyes, resting a hand on her hip and groaned in annoyance, “Oh come on now. I need to see something, I don’t have much time left now…” She revealed in a patient tone.

I rolled my eyes dramatically as I took another step back, “Yeah….no.”

 “I’m not giving you much of a choice right now,” Orfeo’s eyes narrowed in disappointment as her hands rested on her side, “You’re lucky since I was planning on snapping your neck right then when I recognized your face. Beside, this will be fun for me at least.”  

My eye twitched as I stared at her with a lot of skepticism right about now. Orfeo smirked, spinning the sword carefully in his hand.

“I want to test your skills,” She expressed clearly.

……….What?

“You want to test my skills?”  I repeated. She rolled her eyes dramatically and stared at me boredly.

“I really hope you’re not rock-headed when it comes to listening either.” Orfeo murmured distastefully before shaking her head and sighing loudly, “If you’re strong enough to survive, then I promise I won’t kill you the next time I see you.”

“What makes you think I’ll see you again?” I demanded.

“Because I’m not going to let this be the end,” She smirked, skillfully spinning the handle in the air before gripping it, “I have a lot of stuff to handle. You’re not going to get in my way.”

I scoffed, catching sight of him loose posture, his face consorting into a twist.

“Even though I managed to break out right now, I’m not going to last long out here, this wrench is still a fighter. So this is the deal, fight me before you have to deal with this one, I’ll even let you keep most of your strength.”  

“And what happens if I don’t want to?” I questioned.

“Well, it’s either you fight me or I’ll start just hacking at you. Then once this chick gains control again, she’ll tear you apart—limb by limb.” Orfeo declared causing my jaw to slack slightly at the horrendous imagery.

“What?!” I shouted. She raised her hands up defensively yet with a nonchalant care.

“Hey, I’m giving you a fair warning. Regardless if you choose to ignore me or not; she’s choked full of darkness right now, she’s a raging bull ready to tear at anything and everything in her path”

 ‘You’re joking” I growled causing Orfeo to smirk. Jesus fucking Christ that smirk is already getting me annoyed.

“I’m not, believe me, I’ve seen enough of her mad rampage against the heartless to know that she can easily take you out in a heartbeat” She retorted.

My eyes widen in alarm at the mere idea of Flare suddenly switching back and going on a complete rampage. I knew she was strong before but imagine this time with darkness on her side. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to survive another fight against her.  I swallowed silently, glaring up at Orfeo as she crossed her arms, leaning to the side and smirked widely.

“So what will it be?” Orfeo inquired.

“Three,” She whipped the sword around as I flashed my keyblade out, taking a hastily step back. I was fucking insane, I was seriously going to do this right now. Orfeo smirked, those red orbs glittering mischievously at me.

“Two,” The darkness began to pulse from Flare’s mere body as she took a position. I gritted my teeth, hurling my arm back before tossing it rapidly forward. I wasn’t going to give Orfeo the chance to freaking kill me. I needed to end this fight before it can get any further. I needed to see if I can snap Flare out of it.

“One!”

It would’ve taken about five more second for the keyblade to have come and cleanly sliced across Orfeo but all he did was wind his arm back, adjusting the sword in his grip before launching it forward. The sword smashed against the keyblade causing the blade to rocket up into the trees.

……………CRAP.

The blade flipped back for its master to regain control, Orfeo swung it around menacingly before pointing it towards my direction. I glared as I snapped my hand out once more, instantly grabbing hold of my keyblade. She smirked wildly, her crimson eyes glittering with pure excitement.

“Game on.”

“Crap!”  I jerked the keyblade up before he suddenly strike forward with provision and a whole lot of strength. Each strike drew back quicker and came back fiercer than I ever expected. I gritted my teeth tightly, ducking past the missed blocks and hoping to god my head wouldn’t end up skewered. Flare smirked deviously at the sight as she continued her impressive assault, not even giving me a mere second to try and find an opening.

The blade flicked against my face, cutting against my cheek as I barely managed to stumble away from the main blow of the attack only to regain my hard defense against the quick assaults. I certainly wasn’t use to fighting classically, I don’t think anyone of us are. Sora and I had to learn the hard way on our own along with the occasional training that Leon provided us but that was nothing compared to this. I countered each of his strikes, taking repeated steps back to avoid to blunt of the attacks. Scratches and semi-deep cuts were beginning to appear along my cheeks and random parts of my arms and I could feel each little cut screaming in pain.

I gritted my teeth and stopped stepping backwards, extending my arm out along the blade to fully stop the assault, feeling her blade press roughly against the keyblade, the metal scratching along the pain that caused me to grit my teeth, the sound extremely unpleasant. I glanced at her face, seeing that devious smirk causing my blood to boil and lashed out. I began to throw my heaviest blows against her but she seemed to block them off with no effect what’s so ever. Orfeo grinned, beginning to throw my blocks way off to the side to try and open my defenses.

I leapt back suddenly, whirling the keyblade in my hand before charging forward to uppercut her. She stood there, grinning wildly before I was about a foot away from her is when she suddenly vanished. My eyes widen, stumbling in place as I spun around, looking around wildly to attempt to spot where she could have gone.

Not good, not good, not—

“You’re not looking hard enough!”

Before I could fully turn around, Orfeo appeared before me, ramming the end of the handle against my forehead, knocking all my senses immediately out of focus. I stumbled backwards, blinking wildly, rings of black blurring my vision when I barely caught sight of her raising her foot up into the air then rammed into my diaphragm. I gasped, feeling my throat constrict and my body heaved forward, gripping my stomach as I held onto the keyblade weakly.

“You area seriously slow, at least show you’re worth a challenge!” Orfeo egged on, balancing Flare’s body back and forth on her heels.

I coughed hoarsely, feeling extremely nauseous at that point with my senses still out of whack. I clenched my teeth, adjusting myself to swing wildly at him as she parried with ease. I seethed loudly, letting go of my side and held onto the blade tightly, swinging with as much strength I can throw in each of these attacks. My sides screamed as I gripped the handle tightly, trying to knock that grip that she had on her blade to allow myself an opening.

Orfeo was quick, unpredictable in the next attacks and each time he would counter I would have a horrible feeling he really was playing with me, not even using his full strength against me. How is this possible, how strong can this being really be?!

“Is this really all you have?!” Orfeo demanded disappointingly, suddenly swiping the blade forward. I immediately ducked to the ground, rolling as he stabbed the spot I was at. I wearily stood up, clenching my teeth tightly as I used the keyblade as support. Orfeo stared at me in disappointment, Flare’s lips drawing to a line.

“Well, it looks like you won’t be as much fun as I thought” She began, narrowing her eyes. “I guess I’ll finish you off here and now then, you can thank me for being merciful on you.”

I gritted my teeth, noticing she was handling her sword a different way this time. He’s going to kill me….she’s going to freaking kill me. My heart began pounding wildly in my chest as my breathing began to pick up. I need to think! THINK!

Orfeo charged forward and my time to think was cut down to about nothing. There was no time to think. I suddenly swung the keyblade underneath the opening of Flare’s arms, smacking the head of the keyblade against her chin. Her head jerked back and I grabbed hold of the head of the keyblade, using whatever strength I had left to slam the keyblade against her sword and wring it out of her hands before slamming the handle against her face. I kicked the sword out of the way before whirling the blade around to grab hold of the handle and slammed the blade against her stomach causing her to stumble back. Those crimson orb’s snapped their attention to me, searing into my soul.

“You little—” He sneered but I didn’t have any of it. I clenched my teeth and yelled loudly, slamming the blade against her shoulders and chest, not giving a second to allow her to recover. I smashed the blade several times before slamming it into her stomach and leapt back. Orfeo attempted to stand up straight when I cast my hand out.

“BLIZZAGA!” The ice began to coat at her feet as I swung the blade around readily.  Now’s my chance.

“TAKE THIS!” I shouted.

I hurled the keyblade forward, watching as it glowed magnificently through the air as Orfeo struggled in the ice began the blade smashed against her. I reeled my hand back and the blade began circling in the air before it began striking back and forth. I swiped my hands in the air, directing the keyblade as it continued its assault against her. Finally I threw my hands down and the blade cut right through her, the ice shattering from the impact. Shards of ice floated into the air as Orfeo stumbled in place, gripping Flare’s stomach tightly. That’s when he started laughing causing me to immediately go back on offense, staring cautiously. Flare’s body rigidly stood straight, wiping her shoulder and legs off of any remaining shards of ice.

“So it looks like when push comes to shove, you do have what it takes.” Orfeo smirked widely, “I think you’ll have what it takes.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” I demanded angrily, “You haven’t made any sense this whole fight!”

“I’m your worst nightmare, kid and I am a man of my words you unfortunate soul. You have no idea of the war you’re about to stick your head into….” Orfeo mused as I gritted my teeth.

“War?!”

“Oh, those are details for later. In time, I’ll give you all the answers. Now then,”

I gritted my teeth tightly, noticing the crimson was beginning to bleed away, draining into the veins. Dull green irises lingered behind the wall of crimson causing my eyes to widen. Flare was still in there!

“Looks like my time is up,” Orfeo dully noted, the smirk ever growing on him. “Three, two—” That sinister darkness was beginning to disappear as well but I could still feel it. The smirk that stretched across her face for one last lingering moment.

“One.”

Her head dropped immediately her bangs shadowing her eyes as she slumped in her stance. My eyes widen and I dropped my guard. Orfeo must’ve been gone now, the darkness disappeared in a heartbeat once her head dropped. I blinked wildly before groaning, gripping my side. I need to recover, I should do it while Flare is still knocked out or…..however she is right now.

I took a few moments to step away, leaning against the tree as I exhaled heavily, gazing wearily to the sky. That was too close for comfort. If I hadn’t pulled that last second move I surely would’ve been impaled by that sword. I grimaced, shaking my head wearily and leaned fully against the tree. I pulled a potion bottle from my back pocket and gazed tiredly at it. I need to get more, there’s nothing left back at the mansion. I rolled my eyes before pulling off the cork and sipped longingly, licking my lips of the bitter potion. I exhaled shakily, tossing the glass to the side, wiping my mouth, feeling the potion kicking into action. The stinging sensations along my arms and cheeks began to increase for a moment before they dwindled down. I wiped away the extra drops that ran across my jaw before I looked at Flare, noticing she wasn’t moving.

 “Flare?” I called out loudly. She didn’t respond causing my teeth to clench tightly together. I know what Orfeo said before….but was it really true?

I carefully took a few steps closer to her, holding the keyblade out defensively. I was about five feet away from her, extending the keyblade out to nudge her shoulder. She didn’t flinch, no reaction what’s so ever. I tilted my head before bending down slightly to try and catch a view of her eyes.

 “Flare? Can you hear me?” I demanded.

 That’s when she shifted causing me to back up, holding the handle tightly with both hands. Her head slowly lifted up and her bangs parted to the side to reveal her dull, lifeless sea glass eyes. I started at her cautiously as she slowly began to raise an arm up. I couldn’t tell if she was reaching for help, but when she began to open her palm, a single leaf escaping from her grasp.

OH CRAP.

A gale erupted from her palm, leaves striking forward in several directions. I hurled behind a tree, stabbing the keyblade into the bark and held onto for dear life. I shut my eyes, the wind thundering in my ears, hearing the heavy thud of branches being sliced cleanly from the tree. I shook my head wildly, gripping onto the keyblade firmly as I stood up. I forced myself to look past the tree, surprised to find Flare still standing in the middle of this maelstrom. Whips of darkness twisted around her arms, cradling along her shoulders and her face. The darkness that clung to her was intoxicating and I nearly gagged at the smell of it.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. I couldn’t believe what Orfeo said rang true. My heart pounded as I scanned amongst her face, void of any expression what’s so ever. Flare was gone.

I gritted my teeth, shutting my eyes tightly as I shook in place, raising the keyblade up as the wind blew my hair wildly around. Goosebumps trailed down my arms as my eyes grew hot, my body trembling with the anger that boiled in me.

“One more to add to the list” I declared sorrowfully. I took a stance as her eyes seem to register onto my being before holding her hand out. For a moment I thought she was going to fire another wind spell at me…..but this was completely different.

Dark ashes flashed against her hand, pulsing and twisting to form a slick black blade with thorns and curves extending out to form into a menacing blade. My eyes widen as I saw the keychain dwindle at the end and she spun the blade fiercely before holding the blade towards her body, the head pointed at my direction.

_“Rawrgh!”_

 “GAH!”

My body twisted in the air before hitting the ground and rolled to a stop, groaning loudly in pain. Blood trailed down my forehead when I stood up hastily, holding up my keyblade defensively. Flare stalked forward, the dark wisps entangling her arms were shifting like serpents. Her body was a shell now, the sea glass orbs that gazed back to me held no more. I gritted my teeth and charged forward, attempting to get past her defense. She slashed at the ground, a beam of dark energy admitting from the blade causing me to roll out the way before picking myself back up. If I thought she was strong before I was wrong. I was so wrong.

 _“RAGH!”_ Her shouts sounded metallic, echoing as she leapt forward. She smashed her blade against the ground, another wave of darkness slashing towards my direction. A loud grunt admitted from my lips when I rolled forward, narrowly avoiding the last attack before I leapt up into the air, spinning wildly and reel my arm back.

“THUNDER RAID!” Bolts of electricity zapped and crackled in every direction as I launched it forward. The keyblade whirled into the air but Flare merely smacked it away. The keyblade hurled up into the air and Flare immediately swung her rod out, another dark attack heading towards my direction. My eyes widen, frantically searching around before I turned, eyeing the tree behind me before charging. I went at full speed towards the tree, gritting my teeth as I stomped my foot against the trunk of the tree and began going up the tree as much as I could before gravity began fighting me.

I pushed off the tree, back flipping into the air and caught my keyblade. My attention snapped forward with the dark beam heading my way and I twisted my position to hold the keyblade out in front of me. What little good that did though. The dark smashed against the keyblade, my defense was barely able to keep me from getting the majority of the hit but the attack still ended up causing me to hurl backwards, hitting the ground again.

None of these plans of getting to her are exactly working right now.

I gritted my teeth, rolling immediately away, a stomp echoing loudly in my ears and the sound of a blade stabbing the dirt. I continued rolling away until I bumped into a tree, flipping myself over to see where Flare was currently positioned. I bit my lip, staring at the darkness that poured from her body, pooling around her feet in a sort of smoky fog.

There was nothing left….I don’t think there is anything left in her. I was running out of options….there is no other options. I have to face this truth. I grit my teeth, shaking my head. Time to finish her off once and for all.

I forced myself up, holding the tree for the support. I gaze up, seeing Flare sneer, an animalistic shout escaping from her mouth before she stabbed her keyblade against the ground. My eyes widen before tumbling backwards past the tree. Darkness sprouted upwards, singeing off anything in its boundaries. My jaw dropped slightly before I gazed down, seeing several dark circles begin to form around myself.

Crap.

I leapt to the side, avoiding more of the dark attacks as they continued sprouting after me.

 _“STOP MOVING!”_ Dark spears sprouted from the ground, following and attempting to cut my path of evasion. I twisted and tumbled, barely keeping up with the speed they were coming from now. Another sliced through the air, cutting directly in front of me forcing me to hurl to the side. Only to feel the fabric on my sleeves to suddenly tear, this obsidian spear of darkness cutting right through it.

Shit.

 _“RAGH!”_ I snapped my attention up seeing her throw her keyblade directly at me and my eyes widen. I threw my arms down, gritting my teeth as I forced the fabric on the sleeves to tear away from the spears. I leapt forward, hearing the blade smash into the spears, shattering it above me. I immediately got on my feet, finding an open shot at her and held my hand out.

“BLIZZAGA!” The fog that began surrounding her caused her to shift around and leap forward, barely just missing the ice from incasing her. The ice shattered upwards, spiking and creating a wall of defense that allowed me to catch her off guard. Her feet skid against the ice, leaping away from the spell skillfully.

“Now!”  I stabbed the keyblade into the ice, hurling myself over the wall of ice. I skid down, catching momentum to slam the keyblade out of her hands. Flare hissed viciously, spinning in place while I twisted direction on the layer of ice. I didn’t give her the chance to take her blade back, skating across the ice efficiently to begin the assault. I slammed her against the ice and kept her there, smashing her against the ice as hard as I could.

I swung my arm back before slamming the keyblade against her stomach, the ice formation shattering behind her. Flare yelled sharply, rolling against the ground before stopping, growling loudly. She picked herself up, slowly turning my way as the darkness that formed around her hand returned her dark keyblade to her. My eyes narrowed before charging forward, feeling the electricity begin to run down the keyblade as I prepared for another strike.

  _“ENOUGH!”_ She screamed.

I was a foot away from attacking her when suddenly winds broke out. I clenched my teeth, suddenly shielding myself from the violent storm. Darkness coated the ground floor as my eyes widen, snapping my attention around to find the whole forest being swallowed into this darkness. The gales darkened the light up, acting as a barrier to this new fight. I gasped, gazing over to where Flare stood, the gale flicking her uneven bangs. A shadow began to morph and ooze from behind her. It began to grow, easily towering over the nobody, wings beginning to morph from the mold of darkness.

What the… hell is this?

Blood red eyes formed from the shadows, its wings dripping with darkness before materializing into feathers. The raven like heartless hovered behind her, the claws digging upon Flare’s shoulders. I stared in absolute horror as the raven screeched, creating a horrible ringing effect in my ears. I rubbed them roughly, staring upon the limp Flare. The raven cried loudly once again, bringing its wings back before forcing them forward. Blades of air came at me as I attempted to block one, easily getting knocked off my feet.

I hit my back roughly, rolling out of the way from a stray blade that came my way. Another came without warning, catching my arm, creating a fresh wound from which I seethed loudly. I rolled out of the way from the others that followed. I gripped my torn sleeve, trying to push the fabric to cover the cut as much as I can.

“Heal!” I shouted.

My skinned burned and I seethed loudly, feeling it begin to repair itself. “NAGH” I bit down on my lip, feeling my arm shiver violently before I snapped my attention back to the raven. It shrieked loudly when Flare leapt forward, slashing forward.

CRAP!

I threw the keyblade up, blocking once before I rolled away missing another strike. She stabbed the keyblade into the coat, suddenly tackling me, wringing her hands around my neck as I gasped sharply. I swiftly uppercut her face before kicking her in the gut, forcing her back. I snapped up, looking to see the heartless swoop down at me, tossing me into the air. I rolled to a stop, groaning in pain when suddenly I felt claws dig into my clothing and scrape against my skin. My eyes widen in alarm when I looked seeing the heartless was ready to peck me to death or something. I raised my hand up, glaring at the heartless like creature.

“THUNDAGA”

Lightning rained down, piercing right through the bird as it shrieked loudly. It released me from its grip and I slashed the keyblade forward, knocking the bird back to where Flare was. I rolled my shoulders a bit before raising a hand up, bolts of electricity already playing at the palm of my hand.

 “THUNDAGA, THUNDAGA, THUNDAGA!” I kept switching hands as the lightning spells rained down, smashing through the heartless and essentially hitting Flare. I gritted my teeth, beginning to feel the magic begin to severally drain out of me. I need to finish this fight before it gets any worse. I need to one-two it.  

I gritted my teeth, creating the lightning storm above the heartless before charging forward, tackling Flare out of the way from the lightning blitz. She glared fiercely at me but I simply headed butted her in resort, picking her up as much as I could and shoved her back. The keyblade glowed brilliantly as I launched the keyblade forward. The blade whirled in the air before striking Flare once. I spread my hands apart before directing the blade in the circular motion. The stream of lights that would follow with this attack began to form into keyblades, causing me to make use of these lights and use them for temporary one hit blows.

I gritted my teeth, spinning around as I snapped my hand towards the heartless. The keyblade whirled in rotation, striking Flare once more before smashing into the heartless. With the lightning raining down, deflecting off the keyblade once in a while as I directed it between the heartless and Flare, it seemed like sparks of light were dancing around us. I gritted my teeth, exhaustion begin to pour more than ever but I needed to finish her off, at least disable the heartless enough to take Flare out. I glanced at Flare, seeing as the keyblade slashed at her, all the times she would attempt to block, god she was just growing weak

…..I’m sorry Flare….i’m so sorry.

I clenched my teeth tightly before turning around and focused on the heartless. I cut through the air as the keyblade followed efficiently. I spun around, when I suddenly slashed downwards. The attacks simply came faster and faster, the heartless unable to regenerate, finally screeched loudly. With the final attack, the heartless slumped to the ground, dissolving into nothingness. I gasped heavily, the keyblade clattering right in front of me as I gazed wearily at it.

“You…..” My eyes widen when I looked up, seeing Flare clutching her stomach, blood tainting her cheek as she heaved heavily, taking a slow step forward. Flare, how is she still standing after all that I’ve done to her??

“Nothing but lies, nothing but pain,” Her teeth gritted against each other as tears began to streak down her face, “I want the pain to stop, make it stop!”

I panted heavily, my body having become numb. I could barely move forward, grabbing the keyblade as I made my way along. I stood in front of her, staring blankly at her as she mirrored my expression. I clenched my teeth tightly, attempting to raise the keyblade but my arm shook so much….it hurt so much.

I couldn’t move—god damn it! MOVE!

I sucked in a deep breathe, forcing my blade back getting ready to swing. My arm shook violently as I stared at the defenseless nobody.

“Do it!” Flare begged.

I could suddenly hear the cry of the raven again, shooting my head up to see the bird begin to morph out of the darkness behind Flare, its red eyes piercing my soul. I trembled in absolute fear. No, not this again. I can’t freaking move!

“I can’t,” I whispered.

I shut my eyes, breathing heavily when I suddenly felt the head of the keyblade being grabbed at, jolting me a step forward. My eyes lifted up to meet hers, a mere moment where it seemed like her eyes lit up. That’s when she rammed the keyblade into her stomach, a sharp gasp escaping from her mouth as my eyes widen in horror.

The cold air slapped my face as the winds began to pick up manically. The handle released from my hand, clattering against the ground floor for a moment before disappearing in a flash of light. Taking a shaky step back, my blood was running cold as I could feel a cold sweat across my face. Flare stumbled backwards before collapsing onto her knees. The raven heartless fell before her, attempting to pick itself up. It screamed, gales of air blasting from every direction. I was blown off my feet, hurling backwards into the darkness.

I yelled loudly, swinging my arms high above my head, feeling the world shatter around. Hurling deeper and deeper into the darkness. Where was anything, where was I going to go?! When I felt like I had landed, it felt like I was only sinking. My eyes widen, throwing myself up only to feel something pull me back down, dragging me to a fierce coldness. I was panicking at this point.

I couldn’t lose, not when I came this far!

“Looks like you could use a hand!”

My eyes widen, the corners of my eyes beginning to feel the cold caress of the darkness that was swallowing me whole. I had nothing else to lose. I took a deep breath, watching as the darkness washed over and I immediately snapped my arm in what remained. I hope I wasn’t hearing things. I attempted to gaze up, hoping I would not loose what I held dear. That’s when a gloved hand grabbed hold of mine, squeezing my hand tightly as I squeezed back. Between our hands it slowly began to glow, creating light within the dark space that I was enveloped in. Growing brighter and brighter, I had to shut my eyes at the sheer sight of it before I suddenly felt my whole being become light as air. My eyes flickered open to find I was back in the forest. I jumped in place, gazing around quickly before I felt the gloved hand release from my grip.

“That was a close one for sure!” A familiar voice remarked, his head tilting as his arms rested by his side causing me to smile softly.

“Looks like I came in at the nick of time!” King Mickey exclaimed. I smiled widely, unable to suppress the sheer luck I received. I need to give this guy a hug.

“Ugh,” I gripped my arm tightly as I began to recall all the pain I received from—

I lifted my head up when I noticed Mickey jump, turning to another direction as he swung his keyblade out, cautiously preparing for any more attacks. But there was nothing left to worry about. Slumped against the base of the trunk of a tree was Flare, her head turned towards the side.

“Hmm—” Mickey raised his keyblade up readily when I gently pushed the blade down, receiving a rather confused look from Mickey when I simply shook my head and began to walk towards Flare. Each step I took was painful, my right arm remaining rather limp as my left hand held it up to keep it from swinging.

I stared pitifully at her before I managed to smirk, “Still kicking huh, you’re really stubborn.”

Flare’s head turned slightly, scoffing breathlessly as a smile dawned on her lips, “Yo-You’re o-one to t-talk.”

I smirked faintly before kneeling beside, frowning at the development of this scene.  

“Flare, I need to know. Who was that person, that Orfeo?”

Flare’s eyes met mine’s bleakly, focusing for a minute to stare at me. “He was here?” She demanded. I nodded slowly as her lips closed, her brows furrowing gently together.

“Michelle, I know now that you are not I thought you were. I’m sorry it took so long for me to realize. But Orfeo and I had have our history...” she exhaled gravely, “Michelle, do not hesitate to run from him. If you don’t, you’ll be pulled into a darkness that is nearly impossible to escape from…..”

I frowned at the statement, regarding in the back of my mind of his words as well. Of his impending return. From the form he seems to be in right now, I don’t think I should have to worry about it. Not that I think I should…..

“I’m sorry that you’ve become burdened to take this fate. When the time comes….if it ever does….”Her breathes were becoming heavy as ashes spilled up into the air, “It looks like my time is up….”

Flare smiled faintly, gazing back up at me, “Perhaps…..we will meet in another life…..”

“Hopefully we do…” I agreed softly. Flare smirked faintly, resting her hand against my shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“Until then” She smiled sincerely before her entire body began to disintegrate into dark ashes, her face disappearing amongst the floating ashes till I felt the release of her grip was when I could tell she was really gone. The dark ashes danced amongst the wind before disappearing completely from sight. I gazed up towards the air, blinking slowly as I rested on my knees.

It was over…..it was finally over.

“Until then….” I murmured whimsically. I slowly stood up, turning towards King Mickey, noticing he was still looking towards the spot where rested, a sort of…..empathy. I shakily took a deep breath, shaking my head slowly. I finished what I started in Castle Oblivion, it’s finally done. I rubbed my cheek gently, allowing myself to rest in the silence that overtook the forest now.

“Michelle, are you okay?” Mickey asked, coming over to my side with a concerned look. I sighed gently, straightening myself out before turning, smiling faintly.

“I think so” I knelt up, rubbing my head before looking towards him. “Thanks for your help King Mickey, I don’t know what might’ve happened if you hadn’t come when you did.”

Mickey smiled, tilting his head, “Aww shucks, Michelle! What are friends for!”

I blinked wildly a few times, repeating the words that he just said. Did he really….did he say we’re friends???????

Mickey smiled brightly, nodding positively once.

“I did tell you we were friends back in Castle Oblivion, haha, you can just call me Mickey.” He suggested. I couldn’t help but sigh in relief, shaking my head and held out a hand to him, smiling as he grabbed my hand and shook.

“Thank you, Mickey.” I thanked appropriately. He smiled brightly before I let go, shakily standing up straight. I rub the back of my neck then gazed down to the small mouse king.

“Your Majes—I mean, Mickey, how—when did you get here?” I decide to ask.

“Huh?” He looked back to me, blinking wildly before crossing his arms, humming lightly, “Hmm, I got here not too long ago when I saw the strange darkness that was coming this way” Mickey explained. I raised a brow gently, tilting my head slightly.

“So you came here for a reason?” I assumed, judging on the idea on why else Mickey could’ve came to Twilight Town in the first place, “What could that possibly be?”

“Hmmm….” Mickey hum thoughtfully, looking up to me and tilting his head. “Well, for a while I’ve been going around protecting the worlds but in the meantime I’ve been also looking around for Riku.”

“Riku?” I repeat, raising a brow.

For a minute….the name disappeared from my memory. Man, I must be that out of it if I couldn’t remember him. Mickey nodded confirmingly.

“The last time I had seen him was when we went our separate ways in Hollow Bastion.” My eyes narrowed gently, shrugging halfway.

“I’m not sure at the moment King Mickey. Beside the fact that my mind is a bit in a fuzz after all that happened. All I know is that Riku left to handle something a few days ago and I don’t know if he had returned back or not.”

If he did though I swear to God I was going to be the first in line kicking his ass.

Before anything else could be done, suddenly Mickey jumped, turning his attention to the side as I turned hastily as well, groaning gently. I can’t afford getting into any fights right now.

I scoffed in annoyance, standing up straight and lowered my keyblade. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?”

King Mickey looked at me bewilderedly for a moment before he turned to look back at Ansem. Ansem slowly pulled out a dark cloth from his coat pocket before shielding his eyes with the cloth and that’s when his body was wrapped in darkness causing my eyes to narrow. Is his darkness progressing this much?

“Riku!” King Mickey jumped at the sight, his mouth dropping slightly at the appearance of Riku once the darkness disappeared and Riku reappeared. Riku nodded gently, smiling faintly towards King Mickey’s direction.

“Your Majesty” He greeted. 

“Jeez, you’re late to the party,” I murmured sourly.

“Good to see you too” Riku noted. I rolled my eyes while Mickey jumped forward excitedly.

“Gosh, have I been worried about you. Where’ve you been all this time?” Mickey asked.  

Riku paused for a moment, turning his head slightly, “I’ve been…..searching for a way to conquer the darkness within me while we wait for Sora to awaken”

Oh no. Here we go. I feel a conversation about darkness about to brew. I eyed both of them before painfully strolling towards the closest tree.

“I’ll give you guys a few minutes,” I said loud enough for them to hear. I found a tree that had been cut during the fight and I decided to slouch against it. Grunting loudly, I relaxed my back against the bark and exhaled gently. I felt so drained at this point, I couldn’t believe I still managed to have energy to stand by that point. The minute I sat down, I could feel the intense pain shoot through my entire body. I sighed gently, humming softly.

“The way you looked—” King Mickey looked concerningly at Riku. Riku simply shook his head.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Yes you do,” I murmured softly, rubbing my forehead. I feel sick to my stomach. I feel way too light headed. I swallowed hoarsely, leaning against the tree, rolling onto my front to watch their conversation.

“I’m getting the hang of keeping the darkness under control,”

“And Sora….did something go wrong with fixing all his memories?” He questioned. I sighed softly, turning my head as King Mickey looked between both of us.

“There’s a reason the Organization has been quiet since our battle at Castle Oblivion and now I know it’s not because of a depletion of members had made them weak.” Riku began to inform King Mickey, “Taking Sora’s memory apart piece by piece was only the first step in what they were trying to do at Castle Oblivion and I think they needed more time to fix his memory.”

Mickey hummed thoughtfully, “You know, you and me were both looking into what the Organization was up to, but what saw didn’t look like much. Almost like they’re trying to buy some time….”

“Right, Sora’s memories are what they’re after. And they needed all this time to until now to absorb every piece of it”

“Huh?” I even raised a brow at the new information I was gaining from this conversation. This sounded a bit strange to how I would explain it.

“The process of putting his memories back together has gone nowhere….they have what’s most precious to Sora, his memories of Kairi.” Riku explained.

For a second I jolted at the revelation but the information drawled back into mind and I slouched once more, sighing loudly. Right….remember….it’s the reason why Xion looks like Kairi. She has drawn in Sora’s most precious memories.

“Well, then you have to let me help! Maybe I could get the memories back!” Mickey insisted.

“I’ve got that covered, Your Maj—I mean, Mickey. Instead, I want to ask you for a favor…a favor for both of you,” Riku confessed. I raised a brow, turning my head over to Riku’s direction.

“What would that be?” King Mickey asked.

 Riku paused for a good moment, an eerie silence now containing the battle grounds before he finally spoke up again, “I have to face one of the Organization’s members soon. I might not survive the fight. And if I do, it might be because I gave in to the darkness.”

I grunted, pushing myself from the ground, swaying to take a firm stance. Riku continued lamenting, “That means you’re the only ones who will be there for Sora, Donald and Goofy—the only ones who can guide them when they awaken….”

“Riku….” Mickey muttered sorrowfully.

“Promise me Mickey, when our friends wake up, you have to be there to help them out.” Riku requested.

Mickey clenched his hands for a mere moment before nodding, and looking up to him. “I promise, Riku”

“Riku….” I murmured softly, my eyes dropping. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head and looked towards my direction. “You’ll be able to make sure they don’t do anything stupid right?”

“Heh, can’t guarantee that, you know, it’s all fun and games with them sometimes.” I pointed out causing him to smile softly.

“I know but at least try to keep them out of trouble. I know Mickey won’t be there all the time for them, that’s why I have to count on you” Riku reasoned.

 “Jeez. You’re actually being sincere with me. It’s unusual really to think about.” I smiled faintly, nodding gently. “I’ll do the best I can Riku…” The words swallowed painfully down my throat, unable to continue. Riku seemed to catch notice of this, raising a curious brow allowing me to continue, “You better not go out doing anything stupid either. You know how Sora is. He’ll probably be determined to find you when he wakes up.”

“I can’t make any promises. You’ll have to try your best if anything were to happen. Sora shouldn’t see me….especially if I were to look like _him._ ” replied Riku.

‘That is exactly what he’s going to do you moron, nothing in my power or in all the power of all the worlds will stop that boy from finding you’ I thought before sighing.

“Fine, I promise I’ll keep them as safe as possible, with Mickey’s help of course,” I gazed over to the King, seeing him nodding reassuringly.

“Thank you……” Riku smiled and for a moment I didn’t know how to react to it. I stared at him before smiling softly. Then the pain hit. More like attacked.

“Nnnnn—” I gripped my head with my right hand, shutting my eyes tightly as the pain began building up. “Michelle!”

“Gah, what is this pain—” My legs lost all of its strength as my knees buckled and I fell forward, one arm extended out to keep me from completely falling. I can hear Riku and Mickey’s concerned questioning of what was happening but it was sounding so blurred and murmured that I couldn’t make it out anymore. My vision was beginning to blacken as my energy was being depleted throughout my entire body. I could barely even focus on breathing at this point. My arm trembled to keep me up as I felt Riku’s grip on my shoulder, shaking me. I groaned, shaking my head. 

“Always my luck,” I gritted my teeth and allowed my eyes to shut. That’s all it needed before my arm collapsed under my weight and I fell into darkness. 


	15. Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops I did it again. I played with your heaaaarrrrrt. Something something something. -w- *shrugs*

Day???

_Dong_

_Dooooong_

_Dooooooooooong_

_Doooooooooooooooooooooong_

_Eyes jolted open, the world vibrating every time the sound of the enormous bell would toll. Whirling around in a vast darkness, there was nothing to be seen. Disbelief followed with panic and fear ensuing, unable to shake the impending doom. The bells continued to toll as the world seemed to rock back and forth._

_Where—what—who’s there?_

_The spiraling darkness….there’s something there._

 

_Wait, don't come any closer--please--DON'T!_

 

_“AHHHH!!!”_

 

 _“SHIT!”_ I bolted upwards, heaving heavily with a slam of my hands on the smooth ground below. I pressed a hand against my chest, feeling my heart thud aggressively against its cage, to escape and survive another day. It was trying to run-away from whatever that dream was. I panted softly for a few moments, unable to handle opening my eyes. I pressed my fingers to my forehead, digging my nails into my skull.

“Breathe, c’mon, just take it easy, and breathe,” I kept telling myself over and over, but the longer I said it, the worse my breaths returned. It was painful to even consider trying to relax but I knew I had to. I allowed myself to fall back to lie down, simply inhaling and exhaling while I allowed myself to recollect my thoughts. I tried pushing away the tolls that rang eerily in the back of my thoughts. I tried pushing away the darkness that consumed my flesh, my warmth, my soul. Then I recalled when the last embrace of light was upon me.

“Xalina…” Her name sprung up, sounding so foreign upon my lips but that caused the whole chain of memories to flow. The desperation for relief, on the brink of madness, being pushed over the edge and back—the crimson eyes flashing—everything falling into chaos.

I thought it was over…when Flare finished the job.

I wiped my hands down my face, sighing momentarily. My eyes flickered open, growing increasingly conflicted when I was only met with darkness. I slowly sat up, beginning to realize that that’s all that ever was.

Darkness.

What happened?

Where am I?

I stared cautiously around, silence following in the midst. This couldn’t have been the portal’s darkness, even there was a sound. The sound of darkness swirling under my feet, around my head.

Yet here, there was nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I held a hand to my knee, attempting to stand up but I was too weak to even consider trying. I clenched my teeth tightly, my sore muscles screaming in agony. It was so painful to move, it took me at least a few minutes to slowly force myself up. Every nerve and fiber in my body seemed on fire, still reacting horribly to the previous fight with Flare. I panted softly, finally being able to straighten my body and examine my surroundings.

“What is this place…?” I muttered, “And where’s Riku—and Mickey!”

The darkness didn’t return an echo of a sort and I was beginning to grow very paranoid. There’s a theory that if one was left in silence, they’d begin to hallucinate. To hear the pounding of their own heart, their nerves and muscles and bones—oh god I was going to go insane. My nails dug into my coat, shivering as I called out once more, hoping that something would change. No response.

“Sshh, all right, think back now.” I murmured, pressing my fist to my forehead, shutting my eyes momentarily, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

I gazed down at my hands seeing they trembled lightly. I couldn’t help but stare at them as I tried to recall everything. I remember the warmth of light piercing the darkness when Flare had killed the darkness within her. Reaching out for Mickey’s hand—then watching Flare fade away.  My head began to pound as I continued to press through the jumbled mess of memories. For Riku to return—to make that promise with him.

Then pain. So much pain. The battle took its toll on me and I collapsed. Now here I am, stuck within this realm of darkness.

Why?

Minutes passed as I wandered aimlessly within the darkness. Trying to find a way out of this hell. Continuing with this walk, I couldn’t stop to notice the faint shrieks and cries. I had stopped a couple times, spinning in place to only meet with darkness. Persevering forward, the wailing only grew louder, sharper, painful. Shrieking followed, the hair on my neck standing as I gripped my head, shielding my ears from the screams.

I snapped sharply, “Is this my fate for what I’ve done!?”

With nothing responding, I felt like I was slowing beginning to lose my mind.

_Take a step forward. Can you do it?_

I picked my head up, glancing around. What was that? Was that a voice?

I blinked a few times before slowly taking a step forward as it directed when suddenly the ground trembled underneath my feet. I looked down but instantly shielded my eyes when the floor below illuminated brightly. The sound of wings flapping echoed in my ears as I felt feathers drift against my arm. I lowered my arms down and look up to the sky, watching as the birds flew off into the dark sky. I blinked slowly a few times before gazing down to the stained glass floor. I took a few steps back, allowing myself to see the whole design of the floor.

I’m in the Station of Awakening.

I stared down at the large mosaic picture of Sora along with Donald, Goofy, Kairi and Riku. This was freaky. Actually, this was past freaky, I lived freaky every day. This was beyond strange and confusing.

“I don’t understand…” I whispered, gazing upwards to where the birds had disappeared off to.

“I thought only keybladers who were about to awaken their power came here…”I blinked slowly before taking another step forward, tracing along the designs of the floor. It was so beautiful, glimmering within this dark world I was in.

“Why am I here…..” I murmured once more before narrowing my eyes. I stopped in the dead center of the floor, spinning once. There was nothing else here but just this platform. I blinked a few times, confused on why I was here. I held a finger to my lips, tapping against it lightly. Those who are keybladers can go in here…..well…it didn’t explain Roxas as much but to remind him how to use the keyblade…..

Wait a second.

I blinked slowly, raising my hand upwards, my fingers stretched and ready for the handle. I waited for a good minute before the keyblade appeared before me, the red handle shimmering. Reaching out to take it, I only stopped when I suddenly heard a crack. The corner of the handle cracked, the keychain clattering onto the floor below. All along the blade, the cracks kept furthering until finally the blade shattered in my possession. I gasped dreadfully, reeling my arm back and took a step back to shield my face from the flying shards. I lowered my arm, blinking wildly as the small shards of light crystalized in the air before they vanished. What.

“No….” My voice dropped to a whisper, my eyes widening.

“No, no, nonono!” I gripped the back of my head, my fingers curling into my hair and tugging. Holy shit. Crap. What.

“That did not just happen, no way.”  I heaved heavily, my heart pounding, a cold sensation running along my spine and to my fingers. My mind was whirling, spinning madly. I couldn’t even concentrate anymore on what was happening. What can I do? What can I do?!

“No, it can’t be, it can’t have happened, no, not now,” the words drifted silently as I repeated the gesture over and over again. No matter how hard I concentrated, the keyblade didn’t form back. Okay. Okay. Keyblade just broke, how the hell do I fix that?

Can that even be fixed?

I gripped my head, feeling tears build at the corner of my eyes. My breathing grew heavy and erratic, setting into a full set panic attack. What did I do wrong, what could’ve I done to even prevent that?! My god, am I failure already? Was this for everything I should’ve done but I didn’t.

My god, what did I do wrong?!

“Ha,” The tears streamed down my cheeks as I threw my head back, staring up towards the endless darkness. “This is my punishment, huh?! Looks like you were /freaking/ right Hoshi, I was going to rue /everything/, huh?!”

I sat upon the ground, rubbing my eyes furiously, sniffing. After all that has happened, all my fighting with Hoshi, the Organization, Flare, the darkness in general—it was leading all up to this freaking mess. To be sitting in a realm with no idea how to get back to my friends and feeling absolutely useless. I had no power to do anything for any of my friends. For Riku, Mickey, for Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy. God, Namine and Jazmine…..i’m so sorry.

Flare and DiZ…..even though they drive me crazy…….

I sniffed heavily, rubbing my eyes with my wrist and drew a shaky breathe. I can’t stay here, I need to go back home. I need to get back, I can only wonder what happened….I hope Riku and King Mickey are okay.

“I need to move….I need to get out of here….” I murmured to myself.

Slowly I took a stand, pointing roughly towards the dark abyss above. It seemed hopeless as I stood here staring. My hand curled tightly into a fist, shaking as I could feel my chest constrict. My anger was beginning to bud as I paced around in frustration. I’m stuck in this dark place with no stairs, nothing, and my keyblade broke.

“All right, whatever got me here, I need to go. Now!” I shouted, “I’m not going to stand around here. So I swear to God, if you don’t give me a way of getting out of here, so help me I will tear this place apart!” I began stomping in place for emphasis, because that’s /really/ going to help.

My voice echoed in the air, growing fainter and fainter till I couldn’t hear anything anymore. I gazed around for a moment, hoping that something would appear maybe. I know there was a slim to no chance of anything coming but I needed to try.

I sighed angrily, tsking loudly before shaking my head. I’m going to die here—

_Prove yourself_

“What?” I spun around before darting my eyes forward. Another structure appeared in the distance. I blinked madly before glass stained stairs suddenly began appearing, forming a path to the next structure. I gapped in disbelief before looking up to the dark abyss. “You couldn’t have done that earlier???”

I shook my head before darting forward, running up the stairs. Keeping the center, I only gazed back once to see the stairs would disappear after I was a few steps away. It looks like there’s no turning back from here. I swallowed gently before continuing to head up those stairs. The next platform was almost in reach and I could begin to see the details of the floor.

“Heh…” I laughed gently, pausing at the stairs as I could fully take in the design of the floor. Of course, it would be them next.

I smirked as I reached the floor, finding the details to sketch out to be my friends. Strange to see honestly, I was almost bewildered by it. It was three of my friends, Jazmine, Frances, and Melissa, all along the ground surrounded by two others I wasn’t sure about. I tilted my head, staring at the two I was unsure of. One looked familiar—

“Wait, Nero?” I blinked in alarm, finding the dark haired boy stare out towards the side, his eyes perplexing from one black to one blue. Then my attention drew to the young girl depicted to the side. She had long, ravenous hair and these deep, sea blue eyes, smiling brightly. I stared rather confused on why these two would be a part of these group, especially if I never met one of them before.

“I guess I’ll find out soon enough about what this means….” I murmured, tracing my foot along the outline of the circle. As I finished, a light began to emit from the circle, spreading from one to another, circling the whole platform in a bright light.

“What the heck??”

I covered my eyes for a brief moment until the lights disappeared and I immediately looked back when I found three pedestals have formed along the platform. I blinked wildly for a few seconds, gazing at all three pedestals that were laid before me. Oh god, these weapons they were back. The three weapons that weren’t going to leave my life. The sword, the shield, and staff of kingdom hearts. I narrowed my eyes, turning to gaze at all the weapons, seeing them floating respectfully on each platform. This….seemed so bizarre, to actually have these weapons in front of me.

_Choose your weapon_

“I have to go through this choosing game again……” I muttered.

Taking a few steps over towards the shield, I gingerly picked up the shield first, surprised that it felt this light in grip. Maybe it’s not real right now…not until I make the decision. I blinked a few times, tilting the shield. My eyes narrowed, knowing how important this weapon actually was. It was the one that represented me the most. The shield defended all but shielded more than what should be. Yeah….that sums me up. I vow to protect others but I protect myself from nearly everyone….my trust is lost out there.

I settled the shield down for a moment, slowly striding past the wand—sorry, I rarely choose you, at least I’m not giving you up—and reached for the sword. I firmly gripped the handle, raising the sword up to admire it. It’s lighter than I expected, sort of weighs a little less than the keyblade. I tilted the blade to the side, gazing down at my reflection for a moment.

Should I use a weapon that I’m so use to fighting with…..but accept the consequences that may follow with it……?

I sighed, shaking my head and placing the sword back onto the pedestal. I’m not going to take the risk. I know which one I would pick the moment I saw them appear. I walked backwards, heading back to the shield and gripped it tightly.

_The power of the guardian._

_Kindness to aid friends._

_A shield to repel all._

_Do you choose this weapon?_

 

“Yes.” I answered. The weapon disappeared in a flash of heavenly light, my eyes widen as I examined my hand.

 

_Which weapon do you choose to give up?_

 

I walked to over to the sword, gripping it tightly and pointed it downwards to the floor then gazed up towards the ceiling.

 

_The power of the warrior._

_Invincible courage._

_A sword of terrible destruction._

_Do you want to sacrifice this weapon?_

“Yes.”

The sword vanished and the shield reappeared in its place. I gripped the handle on the back, swinging the shield out once it came back. Hmm, now I have a new weapon. I exhaled lightly, shutting my eyes and gripping the handle tightly. All right. Just keep moving…keep moving.

I turned my head, looking over to see the pedestals slowly disappear before the next case of stairs began to form on the edge, trailing up the darkness before revealing the next platform. I swallowed lightly, beginning to make my way to the stairs when I paused, turning back to stare at the platform, looking again at the elegant designs on the floor.

“Jazmine, Frances, everyone…hang on a bit longer, I’ll find you soon enough.” I vowed tenderly.

After a few more seconds, I turned and began to jog up the stairs. After a few more minutes of running up the curling stairs, I began to see the next platform overhead but stopped.

“Wait…why is this one broken?”

I reached the final step, getting a good view of the platform to find that it had been shattered, small pieces of the edges having completely crumbled off and disappeared. I narrowed my eyes, walking closer towards the crack that laid from one edge almost all the way to the center. I examined the damage, wondering what could’ve happened here that caused this. The floor rumbled and I backed up as another piece suddenly fell to the abyss below, never to make a sound. I gazed over the edge, blinking slowly. I don’t like how this place feels. I gripped the handle, taking precaution while stepping to the side as I continued to inspect the damage.

“What happened here?” I questioned myself.

_Heal those who are still Hurt_

“What?” I looked upwards, raising a brow. Heal those who have been hurt?

“Who are you talking about?” I asked. The floor rumbled once more and I immediately backed away from the edge again, expecting another piece of the platform to fall. That wasn’t the case though. The floor continued to moderately rumble until a shadowy hand slammed upon the floor, nearly knocking me over.

“Oh shit!” I crawled backwards when another hand slammed upon the platform. I got back onto my feet, staring at the hand in disbelief when the floor began to rumble again. Oh no.

_Prove yourself_

I took several steps back, my eyes widen in horror as the being raised up from the ground, and darkness dripping from its antennas as it got taller and taller to the point of where it could’ve been as tall as a building. I nearly dropped the shield but I quickly recovered it and stepped back towards the edge of the platform, nearly tipping over. I gasped as the giant Darkside appeared before me on the platform. The Darkside’s illuminating golden eyes peered through its dark wraps and leaned forward. Oh crap!

I leapt forward, rolling away as the heartless punched the ground, shaking the entire battle field. I got on my feet, slowly crouching back up as I raised the shield in defense.

“Why the hell did I choose the shield?! I should’ve chosen the sword, it’s easier to use than this!” I grunted before leaping back against as the heartless strike the ground. That’s when my mind began thinking to Goofy. Goofy tosses this thing like a pro, he always fights with his trusty shield. Maybe I could copy some of his moves for this situation. Or just be like Sora and whack at it with the shield.

I gripped the shield by the edge and hurled it at the hands, managing to get two strikes on both hands before the shield boomerang back to me.

“Hey! I can use Strike Raid still! Sweet!” I grinned somewhat before dodging another swipe of the hands.

 I gritted my teeth when I began to plan out my attacks. I think I can handle this. I leapt forward, striking at the hand that rested along the ground before it slowly began to lift up into the air to the point where I had to begin tossing the shield to make the attacks.

When the hand began to glow, I instantly leapt out of the way, getting hit with a bit of the aftershock. I gritted my teeth to find that a pool of darkness was forming along the arm and three Shadows began to form within it. I shook my head before charging forward, catching the attention of the three shadow heartless. One leapt up into the air when I smacked it viciously down with the shield, causing it to disintegrate. The other two leapt at the same time forcing me to block one, kicking the other that tried to come from behind.

I slammed the shield to the one that had leapt at me forcing it back then threw the shield at the other one, backing it up before it was destroyed by the shield coming back. I caught hold of the shield when the other heartless leapt at me, scratching along my arm and back when I slammed the shield against it, throwing it off me. I threw the shield at it and destroyed it with the return of the shield. I scoffed angrily before looking towards the Darkside, seeing it retract its arm from the ground and stood straight. I leapt up, striking at the hand as much as I could before descending back to the ground. Throwing the shield right at the arm, it came back as the heartless began to lean back, its arms getting closer to the ground but the heart cut center began to form an eerie orb.

Shoot, it’s going to attack with that raining orb attack soon. That at least means I’m getting closer to beating this thing.

I concentrated on destroying the heartless more than the attack that was going to appear in a few more seconds. I lashed out repeatedly along the arms, striking as hard as I could. Expectedly, the orbs finally released from the heartless, shooting up towards the air. I continued to strike towards the hand when I my body jerked forward from a shock along my back. I gritted my teeth, cursing at the pain and looked up to see the orbs gracefully falling. Damn it.

I backed away, avoiding where most of the orbs were falling to before rotating to the other side. I still had to dodge a bit more on this side but at least I was still able to make a few more hits. I continued to ram the edge of the shield at the heartless, slashing and striking as much as I could. I gritted my teeth feeling another orb hit along my leg, jolting me. I pressed on, trying to ignore the pain. I needed to beat this thing now or else!

The arm was beginning to bend downwards again, forming a dark aura around the fist and I knew it was going to smash its fist into the ground. This was it, this was going to be what I needed to beat this thing up. I narrowed my eyes, leaping backwards as another orb came crashing down to the spot where I was standing. Seconds later the raining of the orbs ended and the first smashed down into the platform, rattling the whole platform. I fell onto my knees before stumbling onto my feet and charged forward, seeing the three heartless forming around the pool of darkness.

“OUT OF MY WAY” I shouted, catching all of their attention when I then hurled the shield at them. All three were knocked back by the impact and were instantly destroyed when the shield whirled right back around to my possession. I stepped into the floor of darkness, feeling my feet sink into it momentarily. I grimaced in disgust and fear when I focused on the arm in front of me and began attacking. I wish Scan was a real thing, I swear, I need to invent something that can end up doing that. I can’t tell if any of my attacks are really doing any damage towards it at all.

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” I strained, panting heavily. A little bit more. C’mon, c’mon! I slashed at it aimlessly, feeling my legs sink further.

“Huh! Crap!” I yanked my feet up into the air before wadding back on solid ground. I spun wildly, seeing the hand slowly begin to pull out from the pool of darkness and back into the air. I glowered before I gripped hold of the shield, winding back before chucking it. The shield slashed it across both arms before coming back for a second time.

I caught hold of the shield when suddenly it disappeared from my hands. What?!

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Part two of the fight is to fight it without a weapon?!” I demanded. I looked up to the large heartless, seeing it was slanting side to side and my eyes widen. “Or maybe I actually did beat it…..but this thing is coming down!!”

Oh shit.

The heartless began to fall toward the floor, its hands smashing along the edges of the platform causing even more of the platform to break apart and crumble. I tried moving to the very edge before it completely gave way onto the platform, the floor shaking violently underneath my feet. That’s when the crack from the center started expanding. After a few more agonizing seconds, the entire floor shattered and I was thrown back and forth from the large pieces I was still standing on. Shiiiiiiiiiit.

“Cr—AAAAAAAAAP!!” The pieces underneath me gave way and I plummeted down into the dark abyss.

_Don’t be Afraid_

_Don’t be Afraid_

* * *

 

“Huh?!” King Mickey startled from his position as the magic mirror went dark. “She disappeared!  What’s going on now?!” A tall figure raised from his seat behind, gracefully walking over, stroking his long beard in thought.

“Patience, my dear friend. She’s still enduring her trials. This will determined whether she remains a possessor of the keyblade or not.” He explained calmly. King Mickey looked disappointed by the answer, turning to him with his arms spread out.

“Will she wake up even if she doesn’t end up with the keyblade?” King Mickey questioned.

The older figure hummed loudly in thought, his arms crossed behind his back as the mirror returned to its original state, further worrying the young king. “It is her decision and her decision alone if she decides to wake up from this dream-like state.” The older gentleman turned to face his bookshelf, gazing towards the ground to look at the young, unconscious brunette who rested there.

King Mickey turned to look as well, frowning before simply nodding.

“Hmmmm, I hope you’re right.”

* * *

 

My eyes flickered open, finding a dim atmosphere of the night sky. I blinked slowly, trying to take account of where I was before I sat up. I have somehow lived and managed to end up right in front of the gates of the Old Mansion. I blinked a few times, unable to fully recognize on how I had gotten here.  

 “How?” I asked, deadpanned.

I sat up, rubbing my head in the meantime while I looked around in a daze. It really was Twilight Town, I was stuck right in front of the gate. I weakly turned my head to face the gate, blinking slowly before groaning. I’m done asking at this point, I’m relieved to be back then anything else right now. I grabbed hold of the gate and pulled but it only reeled back into position.

“Oh come on,” I shook the gate fiercely, the chains rattling wildly, but no budge. I sighed, quirking my lips.

“I’m guessing I’m not out yet….am I?” I rubbed my cheek roughly, sighing.

“Not quite.”

My eyes widen and I whirled around to find three complete strangers—wait a second.

I blinked wildly, narrowing my eyes to particularly the tallest male that was there. He wore an embroidered golden and olive green vest over a high-collared shirt and tight black leather trousers with leather shin pads, and steel, open-backed sandals on his feet. Around his waist sat two crossed, gold-buckled belts on which he has two pouches attached to either side. He was also wearing a collection of brightly colored rings and bracelets on his left hand, and had a set of earrings on both ears.

The smirk that rested on his tanned features was strangely familiar. Then it hit me.

“Balthier, the Sky Pirate!” I gasped.

Then my attention darted to the one who called out to me, the lone woman in the group. Her smile was warm, her dark hair cradling around her heart shaped face. She wore long, sleeveless, blue rib-knit duster sweater, wearing matching rib-knit arm warmers. Underneath it all she had a black tank top, a denim button-up skirt, and black bike shorts and a pair of silver buckled black boots.

My eyes widen in disbelief as the name slipped from me, “Rinoa.”  

I am……ready to freak out about how cool this is. Two Final Fantasy characters are standing in front of me. They were real, they were here—wait. There’s still someone left. Now drawing my attention to the last male on the right, I began to analyze him, clearly not recognizing him.

He looked close to my age, hair dark as a void, and tussled as if the teen had barely gotten out of bed. His eyes stormed with a curtain of green and brown, harboring a look of restrained anger. The way he prided himself in his stance made me wary of his intentions, but the way he was dressed proved that he might just be some normal guy. His body harbored a long-sleeved hooded shirt that rolled at the elbows, with suspenders clipping onto the edge of his pants for support. His dark pants were sewn and patched in different areas from wear and tear, though his shoes seemed brand new compared to the rest of his wardrobe. I don’t think I know him from anywhere but….he seems familiar for some odd reason.

I gazed to each one of them, noticing how they stood in each corner of the open space causing me to raise a brow, wondering what the heck was going—oh.

I crossed my arms, looking towards the three that were surrounding me. I really wasn’t out yet. I was still stuck, now resorting to the questioning part. I rolled my eyes slightly, turning around and walked over to Rinoa. She stood by the corner of the entrance of the forest. Her arms were behind her back as she swayed on her heels, smiling softly when I came in front of her. I was about to greet her when she jumped right to the question.

“What is most important to you?” She asked, “Your possessions, your friends, or your pride?”

I blinked momentarily at the question, surprised that those were the options. I rubbed the back of my neck, tilting my head. “My friends, of course”

She smiled softly once again, nodding, “Keep that in mind then.”

I stared at her for a moment, walking backwards away from her before turning and heading the other direction, going towards the Sky Pirate. He was tossing a golden coin in his hand, flipping it skillfully between his index and ring finger. I watched for a moment as he tossed it high in the air, catching it each time without fault. He tossed it up one last time before catching it, turning his attention towards me.

 “What is your greatest fear?” He asked, his Dalmascan accent coming out in full bloom, “Losing your friends, losing your freedom, or death?”

“Jeez, why only pick one? They all sound pretty bad.” I sarcastically replied. He smirked at the comment, tossing the coin once more into the air.

“You can only choose one answer though, my dear.” I quirked my lips, feeling my cheeks heat up lightly in embarrassment. Daaaaamn it you piraaatteee. You fancy pirate. I rubbed my chin, taking into full consideration to the answer.

Death is the permanent end, ugh, that’s scary to think of. Having my freedom taken away from me, well, it felt like I was suffering from that already. It’s horrible…..just being pent up. Losing my friends…I’ll be all alone. That’s painful thinking about it. I’ve been a while but Riku and Namine have been the ones to keep me going.

“Losing my friends would have the worst impact on me. I don’t know what I would do without them.” I answered carefully. Balthier tossed the coin back up into the air, humming faintly.

“Seems like you were biting your tongue between that and freedom huh?” He observed.

“It was that obvious, huh?” I shrugged faintly and turned, walking over to the last boy. He stood in front of the gate, his arms crossed firmly across his chest. I stood about five feet away from him, tilting my head slightly. Last one, I wonder what he has to ask now. By that look he’s giving me, I’m not even sure if he’ll even talk to me.

 “………Hey…..” I greeted, waving awkwardly.

“Why are you here?” He asked immediately. My lips quirked, my hand dropping to my side as I stared at him. Well that’s one way to start this conversation.

I narrowed my eyes to the side, trying to understand the purpose of his question, “Because I fell from fighting a giant ass heartless?” I answered sarcastically.  The angry young man stared at me in annoyance, rolling his eyes.

“Not why you’re here, smartass. I mean why do you keep fighting for this cause?” He revised.

“Cause?” I repeated. The boy’s eyes narrowed dangerously, his teeth gritting against each other. I took another step back, becoming intimidated already by him.

“Wielding that damn blade, trying to act like a hero to everyone. Why are you even here? This isn’t even your home.” He finished angrily. I raised a brow, keeping my distance from him, already having a bad vibe radiate from him.

“Are you talking about the keyblade?” I pressed.

“Yes, that thing.”

I blinked slowly, rubbing my head. I could only hum faintly, gazing towards the ground. Why did I keep fighting? I had no other reasons to have stayed here in this universe. Was it for my own satisfaction? Heh, I was way past any satisfaction at this point in time.  I was just driving myself crazy with no free time for myself and risking my life fighting heartless every other day.

I could hear him humming in impatience, his heel tapping against the gate, rattling it. I sighed softly, meeting his stormy gaze.

“My friends, I can’t abandon them. After all we’ve been through, I don’t think I’ll be able to simply move on from them if I stopped. I love them too much to merely give up like that,” I answered honestly.

He nodded slowly at my answer, his jaw tightening. The sound of thunder crackled above causing me to jump in place, turning to find the other two had disappeared. That was rather disturbing, I’ll admit. I turned back, making sure that the boy in front of me didn’t disappear.

Luckily he was still there, his arms settled on his sides.

“So, i’m guessing you don’t have an idea why I’m here, do you?” I decided to ask him. He shook his head causing me to sigh in disappointment. It was worth a try at least to ask.

“I do have one more question though,” The boy requested. I raised a brow but I nodded my head for him to continue on.

“Do you believe you deserve it?” He asked.

I met his gaze and grimaced, shaking my head, knowing immediately what he meant. He raised a brow, tilting his head.

“I don’t.” I answered.

“Why not?”

“I used it recklessly, I don’t deserve that kind of power. It can be used for even better purposes than when I used it,” I chuckled lightly, shaking my head, “I still don’t know how to use it right. Why give a person a torch to light the way when they may end up dropping it and causing a huge fire?”

He blinked a few times before nodding slowly, “Then do you think you can redeem yourself?”

I gazed up to his before looking away. “I can try as hard as hell to”

When I lifted my head back up to look at him, he was gone. I sighed heavily, leaning against the gate in place of where he was. I sat down on the ground and growled lowly, echoing the rumble of thunder above. I bowed my head into my crossed arms, exhaling shakily as I rested my back against the metal gates.

What else could possibly happen?

There was a rustle in the wind, beginning to pick up relentlessly. The leaves began to drift in the wind and the sky seemed to darken even more than it was. My eyes narrowed and I could feel something was amiss. I slowly picked myself up and took a few steps forward.  My eyes drifted to the darkness of the woods, feeling something....a presence lingering. I waited for a few moments, my breathing stopping in anticipation.

I didn't expect red eyes snapping open in the darkness. My breath hitched loudly and I found myself backing up to get away from it, bumping right into the gates. The red eyes remained in the forest, observing me before blinking once. That's when the eyes began moving as if...it was walking out of the darkness.

My eyes widen and I was suddenly shaking. W-Why...why was I so scared?! It was like...I couldn't control my fear towards this thing. It had a terrifying presence that I simply couldn't ignore.

It slowly got out of the woods and my eyes widen as I noticed...it was darkness itself. It held somewhat of a humanoid figure but it was shadowy, particles of darkness floating around the body and connecting back. The red eyes continued to stare at me as I stayed unmoved.

'What...what is this thing?!'

My heart was pounding against my chest and all I could do was stay frozen in spot. The head of the body tilted slightly, the red eyes blinking once more. Suddenly the darkness surrounding the mysterious being began to swirl around it. It was completely enveloped in a vortex of darkness till it finally went away and my eyes widen in disbelief.

It now wore the Black Coat.

The red eyes still glow brightly amongst the darkness of the hood but now I was able to identify that whatever this thing was could've been male. The red eye being stood there as the wind began to pick up and my hair began to flow around to hit against my face. I felt my teeth clench as I took a defensive stance.

“What are you? A heartless or something?” I demanded.

The being stood there, unfazed about what I said till it took a battle stance, a dark laser appearing in its hands that seemed to resemble the eteral blades that Xemnas used. But something about them....seemed even more sinister than his. I glared at it, holding my fists out and taking a defensive stance.  That shield coming back right about now would be really helpful.

“If it's a fight you want, come and get it!” I snapped.

So it did.

It vanished for a moment causing my eyes to widen, looking around immediately to find where it could’ve gone. That’s when beams came shooting out from the forest and I leapt away, continuously rolling along the ground to avoid it. When the onslaught halted, I picked myself up from the ground to find the figure appear right before me, swinging the blade down causing my eyes to widen.

“GAH!” The force of the attack threw me across the field, hitting right against the gate. I groaned painfully, clutching my shoulder while taking a stand, using the gate as support. Jeezes. This thing is moving incredibly fast—

“Wait a sec—” My attention diverted downwards, finding a dark pool of darkness forming at my feet and I immediately leapt out of the way, tumbling along the ground. When I looked back at the spot, a hand had sprouted, swirling with red and black. I stumbled onto my feet when I could tell it was behind me again.

“Shit—” I ducked down, tumbling and rolling in an attempt to avoid all the insane attacks he was deploying. What kind of moves are these???

I leapt to the side, avoiding a dark wave slashing towards my direction. I gritted my teeth, snapping my attention to the Heartless like thingy. The being dove into the ground, disappearing entirely. My eyes darted around the open-space, trying to figure out where the heartless thing disappeared off to. I waited in total silence for about five minutes, every second feeling like an hour. Where did it go—

Darkness warped underneath my feet, glowing with a red haze causing my eyes to widen. I felt the floor just burst upwards in an explosion, knocking me back. I hit the ground, coughing hoarsely as I snapped my head to the side, seeing the heartless jump towards my direction and my eyes widen. I could only raise my arms in defense as I began attacking. I grunted horribly, feeling my body shake violently with every hit, with every slice, every time I stumbled backwards.

I panted heavily, feeling my arms and legs bruised unbearably as I could barely stand. The heartless swung the blades back and I could only crouch down, barely missing the headshot, sticking my leg to trip it but it merely jumped in the air. It stomped down on my shoulders then leaped off, sending a dark slash from behind. I staggered to the side, barely missing the attack that could’ve easily killed me. I panted, feeling the blood that trailed down my arms sting the other wounds. The heartless turned around, skidding across the ground before launching back at me as I gritted my teeth. I hurled myself to the side, dodging an array of dark slashes. I was getting up when the heartless was in front of me. No—

I gasped, rolling backwards, hearing the rattle of the metal gates behind me as I groaned weakly. Damn it. I shut my eyes, attempting to get back up when I froze, seeing the dark eteral blade glow viciously against my neck. I gritted my teeth, crawling away only for my back to press against the cold metal of the gate.

Shit. I’m cornered.

I clenched my teeth, looking down my body to see red slowly seep through my beige shirt. I panted slowly, looking up into the darkness of the hood, staring into those crimson orbs. I exhaled heavily, digging my fingers into the dirt as I attempted to push myself into the gate. A desperate attempt to escape the unavoidable outcome. Well, I was beaten fairly quick. I gritted my teeth, feeling the lingering heat against my neck.

“So....gonna finish the job?” I demanded. The being froze in its position, simply staring at me. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see if there really was anything else into the hood. What was its purpose…..?

_Live_

_or_

_DIE_

Suddenly the blade moved back causing my eyes to widen when I saw its arm swing back. I gritted my teeth, trying to figure out where was the best place to move, what was the best action to take???

I wanted to die…. atone for my actions. I felt my eyes begin to close, knowing the blade was heading to me. I felt so weak….so weak…..I can barely even move now. I felt my breathe become shallow, hitching as my fear spiked in my body. Why was I still afraid?

Wasn’t this what I wanted?

_Is it?_

I snapped my eyes open, finding time had halted. The figure that hovered over me, looking so disappointed, “Are you sure you’re going to allow it? Giving up this easy?”

“There’s not much I can do, is there?” I gasped. I could feel the hole in my stomach grow cold and feel it spreading to the rest of my body. I exhaled shallowly, feeling my breathe come slowly, barely taking in any air. The fear was prickling in my skin, burying deep inside of my soul. A scoff admitted from the side and the figure above turned.

 “Oh well, she’s giving up on everything. Friends, family, life, let her be. Let her be selfish to her own wants. Just a puppet. Nothing more or less. She wanted to cut her strings, this is what happens.” Another figure regarded, crossing in front of the other before leaning against the tree. I looked between the two, unable to tell who they were. Faces hidden in shadow, intentions cloaked within their words.

I could only lay there in silence, trying to clear my mind of what was happening. I think I’m dying. No. No. No……No…….

_“Pain….”_

_“Loss….”_

_“Grief…”_

_“Death.”_

 

“They’re always going to be there Michelle, but are you going to allow it to overtake you?”

**_Thud_ **

“GAH!” I clutched my chest, grunting loudly in pain.

“Just accept it….there’s no turning back.” The figure by the tree soothed. I closed my eyes tightly, panting heavily as I felt another heavy thud, seeing the images of my friends, my family, my home—n-no!

I slammed my fist against the ground, feeling the vibration along the ground surge in my arm. I coughed loudly, my eyes snapping open with eyes dilated.

“Oh, looks like she’s changing her mind, guess you were wrong.” The figure hovering over me stepped back, gazing over to the one by the trees. The figure then turned back to stare at me, those vicious orbs beginning to turn to a distinct look. “Are you sure you’re ready to go? You know…it’s only going to get worse out there…”

I panted heavily, hitting the ground with my fist as another vicious thud raced across my chest. I clenched my teeth as a new source of strength ran through my blood.

“I will not be told what I can or can’t do!” I whispered. “I may be selfish, I may be insane, but I will not be told what I can’t do.”

Every ounce in my being was pulsing in pain as I continued to slowly find myself staggering to stand.

“This is my life! This is my story….i’m going to tell it through….i’m going to figure this out…..and I will find the hope to continue living……I will find myself to get there!”

The figure before me, I could barely tell past the hood, there was a smirk. The figure resumed the position with the eteral blades tight in its grip while the other figure in the back disappeared into the darkness of the woods.

I snapped my eyes open, finding reality was back and the figure was swinging the blade straight at me. I raised my arm to counteract the blade. I knew I would probably lose my arm but its damn better than losing my head! Time seemed to slow as I shut my eyes, waiting for the impact.

SMASH.

I stumbled backwards, falling onto my knees with my arms still raised up in defense. I grunted, expecting to feel something more than the sting I have right now. What the hell. I decided to open my eyes up and found myself gasping. No way. The shield was back in my possession, the leather restraints wrapped around my wrist and forearm.

I blinked a few times, making sure this moment in time wasn’t a hallucination. I exhaled heavily, shaking my arm as I could feel it move along with it. I gritted my teeth, feeling the being was pushing the eteral blade forward and my arm shook from the mere strength. I staggered up, not allowing the mysterious heartless a chance to break this.

Don’t stop!

I pressed my other hand into the back of the shield, stomping forward to throw the being back. I quickly retreated back, panting. The heartless skidded back before back flipping back. It landed smoothly, slowly lifting its head to meet my own gaze. I clicked my tongue and regained my stance, ready for whatever this thing had to offer.

The heartless leapt forward, striking against the shield as I blocked, repeatedly moving back as I blocked a majority of his strikes. I slipped to the right, allowing the heartless to completely miss me before I swung my right arm back, slamming the shield into its back. It turned suddenly but I slammed the shield against the head, using all the momentum that remained in me to then slam it to the ground.

It was about to get back up when I stomped on the body. I exhaled heavily, panting before I realized my actions, stepping back as I defensively held the shield up.

The figure did not move, the eteral blades disappearing from its grasp. Darkness poured from its body, slinking into the ground to form a bubbling pool. I stared at it watching it simmer and disappear into the ground without a trace of its existence. I panted roughly, wiping my mouth of the semi-dry blood. I dropped my arms to my side, sighing in relief that the battle was finally done and over with. I gazed down to the shield on my arm, sighing in small relief that it appeared just in the nick of time.

I brushed the front of the shield briefly, gazing towards the ground. There was nothing but burnt patch from the spot in which the heartless fell. My eyes narrowed. I had never seen such a thing before….where did it come from...oh never mind. I sighed, brushing my neck briefly and turned away from it.

“Hmm….now then….” I looked around, hoping to find some sort of answer or something else next to do.

_“Michelle!”_

“Huh?” My eyes darted around, the shield gripped tightly in my hand. The environment began to blur as I blinked widely. Wait….wait. The environment around me began to crack and shatter at the farther corners.

I shut my eyes entirely, taking a steady breath before opening my eyes again. With a blurred vision, I could barely make out the ceiling above me and the pair of black ears that hovered on the side. I shut my eyes once more, groaning softly before putting a hand to my forehead.

“Gosh! You’re awake!”

“Hmm….your M-Majesty?” I rasped.

The little mouse king appeared fully by my side, not cloaked within the dark Organization coat. Instead, he was wearing a short sleeved jacket with white linings with the top half of the jacket being black and the bottom half sporting a bright red. His pants also shared the same brightly colored red with a zipper going down each leg, carrying yellow pouches on each side.

I blinked roughly, groaning heavily as I attempted to sit up but found the ground once more. I gritted my teeth, feeling my arms shake and decided not to push it at the moment. I reached towards my stomach, patting it gently to see there was no signs I had been severely attacked. I doubled checked as I grazed my fingers along my arms, seeing the healthy peach tone skin wasn’t littered with dark bruises, only light ones from previous fights. Satisfied with the sight, I merely shut my eyes, now becoming overcome with a sickness to my stomach.

“Where…where are we?” I decided to ask, too nauseated to bother opening my eyes.

“Whelp, after you collapsed, I thought there’s nowhere better to take you but back here in the Mysterious Tower where my Master resides.” King Mickey explained.

I grumbled lightly, cracking my eyes open. I was able to begin making out shapes and forms and I realized we were in the tower. I blinked slowly, rubbing my temple gently as I noticed Mickey turned away from the long desk in the center of the room towards the opposite end.

“Master Yen Sid! She’s awake now!” Mickey exclaimed.

I blinked roughly once again before looking forward…..and up.

“Indeed she has awaken,” A whimsical voice observed, “I’ve heard many things about you, young one.”

I couldn’t stop staring, finding his tall structure and his stare to be rather intimidating, full of wisdom and knowledge beyond my comprehension. The blue robed wizard turned away from the doorway and headed to his desk, taking a seat once he was there. His fingers intertwined firmly, an exhale escaping through parted lips.

“I’m sure you have many questions, and I have my own fair amount of questions if you would heed to my curiosity…” The sorcerer offered. 

I swallowed roughly before looking down to the ground, pushing myself up. Mickey seemed concerned for a moment but I smiled reassuringly at him before continuing to finish standing up, looking to the sorcerer, watching as he stroked his beard in thought. I exhaled heavily, finally building the courage to meet the wise sorcerer’s gaze.

“What is it that I can help you with, Master Yen Sid?”


	16. Too Close to the Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -w- *slumps* Life.....i wish i had a life. Months of working is hard to get back into writing, especially when you want to move again. Oh well, here's the next chapter. Extra long and extra Axel cause we all want him. Thanks everyone who reads this silently, I appreciate you all. See you next tiiiiiiiime

 

“What is it that I can help you with, Master Yen Sid?”

The Grand Wizard sat proudly, his eyes still but I knew he was analyzing, forming his own opinions and thoughts on me. It already felt like an interrogation by the mere way his eyes sharpened and I only hoped I wasn’t going to end up stuttering. This was the first time our paths crossed and I’m already terrified of what to expect. I gulped faintly, eyeing Mickey briefly as he encouraged for me to take a step forward, waving his gloved hand briefly to gesture.

“You know who I am?” Master Yen Sid seemed intrigued, bringing his fingers to his beard to stroke carefully. I blinked slowly, realizing my actions of how I already knew of his name. My eyes widen, my neck burning as I attempted to keep my cool in front of the all-knowing wizard.  

“Oh, um, your name was mentioned to me—once before by Donald. He said you were King—ugh, I did it again—Mickey’s teacher once before,” I covered up, nodding affirmatively. Master Yen Sid hummed, continuing his slow strokes down his beard.

“Indeed I was. Many years ago I had taught the King in the arts of magic and the technique in how to use a Keyblade,” Master Yen Sid confirmed, nodding, “Times were simpler back then but now it seems the worlds balance are in stake again.”

“I’m afraid so.” I agreed, rubbing the back of my neck.

Yen Sid reeled back in his chair, his fingers lacing together in upon his desk, “His Majesty informs me that you seem to have your own agenda in this fight against the ones he merely described as ‘The Organization’. Is this true?”

I quirked my lips, darting my attention momentarily to King Mickey before looking back to Yen Sid, nodding. This was no time to ask what Mickey had explained to him while I was out, I need to answer him as honestly as I can. I stood rigidly, swallowing lightly as I formed my explanation.

“Yes, Organization XIII is a group of thirteen powerful Nobodies who claim to seek to reclaim their hearts and become whole again. We first met them in Castle Oblivion and five members of their group were taken out along with an additional three candidates as well,” I explained, “In the meantime, they’ve been using the power of the keyblade from Sora’s nobody, Roxas, to slowly but surely collect hearts as a way to open Kingdom Hearts.”

The pressure in telling him the truth was un-bottling slowly, carefully picking my words to sound genuine as possible. It was the truth after all, but I couldn’t reveal everything that I’ve grown to discover thus far.

Master Yen Sid’s expression didn’t change, his slender fingers drumming patiently upon his desk.

“It’s similar to what Mickey reported to me, albeit, more in depth,” His thick eyebrows rose up, “do you know any more?”

Do I know more that I can make up last second, why yes, I do.

“They don’t necessarily travel by ordinary means. While we had originally traveled on Gummi ships on our first journey, they use a different means, even faster. They travel by dark portals that are able to interconnect with pretty much any world.” I scratched my cheek, quirking my lips. What else could I tell him at this point?

“Also, this is more in my opinion…but they’ve created replicas as substitutes to the real thing. All but one is destroyed at the moment and she’s being used as a puppet in order to halt Sora’s progress on regaining his memories. Even now, what their plans for her are beyond my knowledge unfortunately. All I can say for sure is that regaining their hearts, to be whole again, is not what the leader, Xemnas, wants.”

Yen Sid merely nodded at my statement, humming softly before waving his hand, a flicker of light escaping from the tips of his fingers. A rattle formed from behind and I turned to find two chairs had been settled. I briefly looked back at Yen Sid, finding him gesturing towards the chair and I took my place, finding Mickey himself heading over to the other chair. Once he was settled Yen Sid continued,

“Is there anything else?”

I hesitated on answering at this point, looking down towards my jeans and scratched lightly against it. I knew I could only think of so much to say without making it seem like I worked for the Organization all my life. I didn’t know what I could say that could make a difference at this point after all that had happened. The mere image of Flare briefly flashed in the back of my mind and I exhaled, shutting my eyes.

“Unfortunately, that’s all I could get…”

“I see,” Yen Sid nodded slowly, staring carefully towards my hand. I froze up, bringing my fingers into a fist and resting them on my knees, sitting up straighter.

“You’ve been trying to slow down there process, correct?” Yen Sid asked.

“Yes I have. I’ve been going to many worlds for the past year and taking out as many heartless that I can handle by myself,” I responded quickly, “I seem to have this ability of sending hearts elsewhere, not directly to Kingdom Hearts.”

“Oh? And how did you come with this conclusion?”

I frowned, rubbing the back of my neck, “I’ve been told honestly.”

Both Mickey and Yen Sid were focusing their attention on me. I could feel my cheeks burn, the knot at the base of my throat tightening ever more.

“I…never really questioned more about it. Perhaps I’m not even sure if they go elsewhere. I’d like to believe I’m not helping the Organization honestly,” I slumped in the seat, “Or else this going to add to my already suckish day.” I concluded.

Yen Sid hummed lowly, rubbing his chin in thought before he looked at me grimly. “Then it seems time is fleetingly escaping our advantage.” He arose from his seat, gesturing with a hand towards my direction. “Young one, hold out your hand…”

I raised a brow, unsure of why he would request such a thing but I nodded in compliance. I properly sat up in the chair, extending my arm out towards Yen Sid’s desk. I shut my eyes, heeding out for the keyblade to materialize. I could see it barely, reaching, shining—I could feel the blade form into my hand. Then it shattered upon realization, my nails digging into the center of my palm.  

 “Huh??” King Mickey made a startled noise as I opened my eyes, bewildered to NOT see the annoying blade appear again. Flickers of light escaped from my hand as I opened it, the remaining bits of light blowing away into nothingness. I retracted my hand to my chest, clenching my teeth as I bowed my head down. I exhaled shakily, shaking my head as I could hear a grim hum emit from Master Yen Sid’s direction.

“It seems my fears were correct. During your slumber, it appears you have broken the connection with the keyblade you had wielded and yourself,” He hypothesized, returning to sit down in his chair, a disturbed look in his eyes.

“It wasn’t my keyblade to wield….apparently…” I noted, grimly looking down to the ground.

“You were still able to wield it, child. You do claim an ownership to the keyblade, though it may not directly be the one you formerly possessed. However, there does comes in time were our emotions can lead us distraught and confused, leaving us to change our course and how we perceive things. The connection you had with the true owner of the keyblade may have been fractured during this time.”

I hummed in thought, scratching my chin in thought. But….I didn’t know anyone who had a keyblade. I mean….this logic is really making me confused. Is it safe to say that perhaps the ‘other me’ had known someone with a keyblade? Is that even a possibility?

“If that is the case, then there is a slim chance that you could recover what you had lost or regain a new, individualize source of strength…” Master Yen Sid exhaled lowly, folding his hands in front of him. “These are mysterious circumstances for which even I do not have knowledge of…..whether you remain a wielder of the keyblade is up for the matter of your actions alone….”

“So, in a great big nutshell…..” I began, “there’s no way I’m getting this keyblade back or basically I may get the keyblade back, be it the one I was using or perhaps a new one?” I simplified, sighing lowly at the chances that were being handled to me.

Master Yen Sid’s lips quirked for a moment before he solemnly nodded. “In a sense, yes, those are the odds you will have to deal with, young one.”

I rubbed the side of my head, exhaling lowly as I shut my eyes momentarily. Whose keyblade did it belong to?

I know….I know it has to do something with Flare. I know it does. Was she really……was she my sister….no…it couldn’t be. I swallowed faintly, sighing softly. There seems to be more of a story here then I expected. It looks like I’m going to have to discover a past that I truly have no idea of. I opened my eyes once more, exhaling heavily before looking to Master Yen Sid.

“All right. I understand.” I exclaimed.

I briefly rubbed my cheeks, avoiding Mickey’s concerned look. Master Yen Sid hummed thoughtfully before resting his hands upon one another on his desk, meeting my gaze.

“It seems the Organization will have the upper hand in the meantime with you being weaponless at the moment—” Master Yen Sid began and I could feel my annoyance spike at his implying voice. I snapped my attention back up, feeling my cheeks burn with anger for a moment before I exhaled steadily. I gripped my fingers beneath the chair, scratching my nails within the wood to get a hold of myself.

“With all due respect Master Yen Sid, although I don’t have the keyblade, doesn’t mean I can’t fight.” I retorted with an edge in my voice. Master Yen Sid turned to face me, his expression seemed so doubtful that I almost glared.

“In terms of slowing the Organization’s cause is what I mean, without the keyblade to return hearts back to their original owners, they will revert back to heartless…..you’d only be stalling in their war against Light and Darkness.” Yen Sid remained calm in his explanation while I settled in my seat. I exhaled heavily as I looked to the ground, feeling my fingers curl into my palms. I could feel my heart racing as I gritted my teeth.

“Then what can we do?” Now I was on my feet, alarming Mickey to the point where he almost tipped back in his chair. “I can’t sit by and let the Organization do what they want! Everyone already knows the risk about fighting the heartless, we still have to do it in order to protect others from getting hurt!”

Master Yen Sid remained firm in his position as he rested his hands upon the table. He took a stand, towering easily over me and crossed his arms behind his back, staring at me as if he was disciplining a stubborn child. I narrowed my eyes at him for a moment before looking down.

 “This is not the time to overreact. Patience is the virtue we must believe in the most right now.” Master Yen Sid preached, “I do agree with you however, the Organization cannot be allowed to continue their plight.”

“Whelp, there’s Riku and I still out there kicking it too, I’m sure we can help Michelle out while she’s recovering!” Mickey offered. I gazed down, smiling softly at him before looking back over to Master Yen Sid. He stroked his beard in thought before returning to his seat.

“Would it not interfere with your own researching?” Master Yen Sid questioned. I raised a brow, turning to look at Mickey as he hummed lowly, rubbing his chin. He then shook it and smiled widely, turning to me.

“No, besides, what’s most important is helping my friends!” Mickey responded. I couldn’t help but smile back when I turned to Yen Sid.

“So, it’s all right I can return back? I probably have been missing for some time, and if DiZ hasn’t already been suspicious with how long Riku has been stalling, I can only imagine his reaction if he finds out I’m….” I paused, frowning at the words crawling their way in, “basically unable to fulfill my duties.”

Master Yen Sid hummed grimly, earning a dropped expression from myself, my arms falling to my side.

“I understand you do have to return your normal duties to give the façade that you still retain the keyblade….” Yen Said acknowledged. I exhaled shortly, kind of surprised that he did agree with my logic. Well, this is going better than I thought it was. I nodded slowly and bowed slightly forward.

“Thank you—”

“But be warned my child…..” I paused, returning my attention to him. King Mickey even seemed a little surprise that Yen Sid decide to continue speaking. Master Yen Sid folded his arms across the table. “You will be fighting with something completely new…your strength will be halved and more of what you once possessed…” Master Yen Sid explained.

“If you are caught by one of these Organization members in combat alone….I am afraid you will not come back alive…..”

I stared at him, almost afraid to imagine the scenario of what he told me. I know….I’ve known all along something like this could happen. I knew even in that strange dream…I would not make it if I didn’t have the keyblade to wield. I’m still here though…..that has to mean something. I’m not giving up. I nodded solemnly, understanding the grim reality I could potentially face.

King Mickey turned to Master Yen Sid, a frown lingering, “Master Yen Sid…isn’t there another way to stop the Organization?”

Master Yen Sid hummed grimly, stroking his beard in thought. 

“Unless her powers were to return to her soon or they can at least hold back the Organization from completely halting Sora’s memories then I’m afraid….that is the only way I can see hope from this Organization XIII from prevailing. We can only hope for Sora’s eventual return.”

The room returned to silence as my lips curled, my eyes dropping to the ground. _Sora, Donald, and Goofy….don’t worry. I’m not going to fail you, not right now._

“I don’t want you to leave on a unpleasant note such as this, please, if you don’t mind I would like to offer you something.” Yen Sid’s tone changed, offering an air of relief to the tensed room.  My brow quirked upwards and I could see Mickey tilt his head curiously.

“Offer me something?” I repeated.

“Yes, with your weapon now up to fate’s hand, you are currently defenseless right now,” Yen Sid remarked. I quirked my lips, resting a hand on my hip. I was about to make a comeback when he continued. “—and I know magic wasn’t your overall focus of study.”

Was it that obvious?

“Yes, I mean, I did….pretty much got self-trained beside what Donald and Merlin the Wizard taught us. It always ended up—” The vision of Tinkerbell freezing, catching my jacket on fire, electrocuting Donald flashed, “—blowing up in my face when I needed it most.” I finished lamely, realizing how much it sounded as an excuse to back myself out of it.  

“If your relay on mere strength, you’d only get so far in the world, my dear.” Yen Sid’s lips curled into a faint smile, “The least a Sorcerer of my standards can teach you are some spells that could prove worthy in battle,” Yen Sid offered.

Yen Sid the Sorcerer, teaching me some magic spells. I blinked a few times in disbelief at the opportunity, looking to King Mickey for a moment before I looked back to him. I couldn't tell from Mickey's equally shocked expression that this was something Yen Sid did so lightly. It must have been a very serious offer. I gulped, feeling my body shake in anticipation of the following choice.

"I accept the offer," I said. Master Yen Sid seemed to smile at my confident answer, taking a stance. A book appeared beside him and he turned to face me, now my curiosity beginning to double as i could only wonder what the book had to offer. 

“Then let us begin our session."

**********************************

“It seems another one of our ranks has fallen,”

Several chairs remained unoccupied in the Gathering room, tapping echoing in silence of the room. Upon the tallest of the rankings, three chairs were taken, one taking to his pleasure to lounge in. Saix’s golden irises fell upon Xigbar’s casual position, his brows furrowing in disappointment.  Even before Xemnas, he acts as a child, with no care or respect for his peers and leader.  Saix scoffed briefly, bringing his hands to his knees, looking up to Xemnas to catch his amber eyes already focused upon him.

“I’m assuming Xalina was the one who met her end.” Saix presumed.

Xemnas’s chin rested on his fist, his eyes shifting to the floor below, “Indeed.”

“Ha!” Xigbar sat properly in his chair, “the little burst of fire finally got the backlash she deserved,” Xigbar joked, his arm resting lazily over his knee with a small scoff, “Good riddance, she was beginning to become a nuance.”

Saix looked distastefully at Xigbar, glaring, “We’ve lost our last researcher for the project. What would /you/ propose we do? That boy and puppet are problematic to this cause.” Saix retorted.

Xigbar scratched the back of his neck, scoffing at the tone. “Pssh, project’s almost done, kiddo and poppet already set up those devices in the worlds. It’s only a matter of time before it’s done.” Xigbar reassured. Saix frowned, unsatisfied with the words spoken by this supposed superior of his.

“Unless that frustrating puppet decides to run again,” Saix retorted.

“Pfft, as if, she’ll be under my watch for the next few missions,” Xigbar snorted, waving a hand reassuringly to Saix.

Saix grimaced at that statement, “Because that reassures me more,”

“Oh, because you can do a better job?” Xigbar jabbed a finger towards Saix’s direction.

“Enough,” Xemnas straightened within his chair, properly looking to the two, “Even with Xalina’s death, it has given us an advantage. We’ve discovered the keyblade wielder Michelle has indeed not been put to sleep along with Sora and the others,” Xemnas exclaimed.

“So it was the other brat that’s been twerking the heartless count this whole time. Huh…” Xigbar returned to slouch back, rubbing his chin, a crooked smile beginning to form, “Seems the spitfire had things to hide from us after all.”

Saix remained stoned face to the commentary Xigbar was making, only glancing up to Xemnas when he called for his attention.

“Saix, inform Axel he has a new assignment.” Xemnas ordered.  

“Which is?”

Xemnas smirked faintly, “Dispose of her.”

**********************************

Axel’s arm leaned casually over the open window, glancing out to the lunar heart in the sky. His boots tapped against the metal frame of his bed, keeping his thoughts from whirling completely.

_Too much is happening now a days. Jeez, was it always this bad?_

Axel frowned, drumming his fingers against the window frame. Ever since Roxas and Xion joined the Organization, things had gotten really icky from the get go. Now, he wasn’t sure what was right anymore. Roxas and Xion were his only friends that he could trust and he could only wonder how much has changed since he had retrieved Xion the first time. Their friendship was strained, he could feel it in every moment when they sat down to eat Sea Salt ice cream on the Clock Tower.

He closed his eyes, thinking how for the first time in weeks it felt normal. To think, to run away from this all. To believe they could do it, with no turning back on the world they sought to escape from. To be free….was a dream that carried to high of a price.

Axel exhaled, resting his head back against the wall.

Flare fought for the price and burned reaching for the sun. Gone into the darkest realms to never return, that’s what they’re claiming happened. Axel knew better however, briefly catching Saix’s gaze when he was making the announcement to the remaining members. That mere look explained it all, Axel was still able to read his friend rather well even after all that has changed between them.  

Axel knew he should’ve held her back that day he saw her marching across the hall. He wanted to confront her about it, get her to spill the beans on whatever she’s been holding back. Even playfully ruffling her hair had her shove his reach away, continuing on the agenda she was sent upon. Axel didn’t need to see the pain that consumed her to this point, he knew she was swallowed by it. Now that he thought about it...no matter how hard he would try…she would still go. That’s how stubborn she was after all.

 “Axel.”

Axel’s fingers paused drumming, his closed eyes pressed harder as if to pretend he had imagined it.  He wished he could have formed a portal to go anywhere but his room.  Sighing, he reluctantly opened his emerald eyes, gazing to the entrance of his door. Saix waited patiently, his brows scrunched together in annoyance.

“Saix, gracing me with your presence, how nice,” Axel casually greeted, smirking.

“I assume you’ve heard what happened to Xalina,” Saix questioned.

 “Yeah…we all heard earlier. What about it?” Axel demanded.

“Xemnas assigned you a new mission,” Saix continued causing Axel to frown, properly sitting to face the Nobody. He didn’t like where this was going.  Axel narrowed his eyes, waiting, “Your mission is to find and eliminate the keyblade wielder, Michelle.”

Axel stared at Saix, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. How did he find out that Michelle was awake—that was a secret that Axel and Flare managed to keep so well hidden since it was the only reason Flare managed to get out of Castle Oblivion in one piece. No…Michelle couldn’t have taken her out—the girl couldn’t even take out a nobody herself—Axel was the one that finished Dekrex off since she was too afraid to.

Axel looked to the ground, his fingers gripping into his knees. It would explain why Flare was so angry—reading herself for a suicide mission—but for it to actual achieve. Flare was stronger than Michelle at this point. How was it possible?!

“Did I make myself clear?” Saix’s tone aggravated his thoughts even more. Axel scoffed, playing off a cheeky smirk.

“I assume….that came from Lord Xemnas himself,” Axel retorted lowly.

Saix met his gaze, narrowing those golden eyes. Axel huffed slightly, unable to take away from the twinging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was going to regret taking this mission, but he needed to. He needed to find out the truth.

Axel pressed his lips together, nodding affirmatively. Saix finally moved away from his door and back out into the hallway.  Following the reassuring click of his door, he laid upon his bed and stared up to his ceiling. He could feel his muscles strain, his chest heaving as he gritted his teeth.

Nothing could stop the regurgitating thoughts of the past begin to haunt him as the hours passed. It was only a matter of time.

To be free…was a price that could not be achieved in this life.

**********************************

Water echoed and poured over the marble staircases, draining over the sides and falling for miles till it began creating a pool at the bottom of the spiraling stair case. At the bottom of the pool, the surface broke and I stuck my head out, splashing wildly to keep afloat from the currents that threatened to drag me down—again. I coughed hoarsely, snapping my head to find where the stair case was threatening to disappear and swam desperately towards it. A flight of stairs had already sunk underwater, threatening to consume the entire tower. My dark hair was plastered against my face, my clothes increasingly becoming more difficult to swim in.  

This was absolutely draining, Mickey was right to warn me about this. This was going to exhaust me to no end, no doubt about it. I honestly didn’t think it was going to be this big of a challenge. I thought this was supposed to be a gift of learning some more magic, not having to take a test to see if I could leave yet.

I huffed heavily, slumping myself against the stair case, the shallow water slowly creeping along my thighs, the water level continuing to rise. I gritted my teeth and pushed myself from the stairs, sloppily adjusting myself before hurrying up the stair case again. Water poured down randomly, threatening to sweep me off my feet unless I could brace the impact. I carefully made my way up the stairs, clicking my tongue in annoyance at how I had fallen the last time. Yen Sid’s test was challenging for sure, it was truly going to prove if I learned the recent spells he taught me.

I finally reached the third tier of the tower, catching notice of the shadows that began elongating along the stairs. The brooms danced down the stairs, carrying buckets upon buckets of water. There was multiple gaps between the brooms that headed, not troubling with me as they dumped their buckets of water down the flight, into the pool below.

A cackling laugh echoed through the room as the source of all the trouble was waving his wings, the brooms following his melodiously orders. My ears pounded along with the music, knowing the music all too well as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Water poured from his staff, the source of where all the brooms were getting their water from. I gritted my teeth as I climbed up the stairs, casting aero to knock the brooms that blocked my path.

If this was just a test to leave—I don’t think I can handle the title of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

“HAH!”

Wood splintered and shattered in the air with gusts of wind following its wake. I hurriedly rushed up the never-ending staircase as the colorful heartless like being looked down, his antagonizing laughing coming to a halt. He squawked loudly, waving his broom and held it forward towards my direction. Bolts of lightning radiated down the stair case in a spiral towards where I was. I gritted my teeth, throwing my hands out.

“REFLECT!”  A barrier formed and took place around me, blocking the lightning’s impact. I shivered, relieved that the spell actually worked. Casting the spell down, I continued my ascent, blowing away the broom sticks that was pouring water down the stairs to trip me. I exhaled, finally reaching the top of the platform as the colorful heartless turn, squawking as I took a stance.

“All right, time to taste a bit of your own medicine!” I shouted, “I’m sure you’ll like getting kicked off a tower!”

The Spellican cried out, jumping upon his broomstick and waved his arm. The air thickened and I could feel the sparks fill the air and I leapt back, dodging a large bolt of lightning. I nearly slipped on the water, catching hold of the stair case before I rushed to the center of the platform, watching as the heartless flew around. I threw my hand out, mentally hitting myself I didn’t have the keyblade. All right, time for some magic.

“Blizzara!” I called out, sending forth an array of ice spells towards the bird. He swerved past the array of ice attacks and I took another stance, feeling the flames beside me. “Firaga!” I shot the flames forward when Spellican casted its own magic towards my direction. They collided and exploded into a dark smog in the air. I covered my face, gritting my teeth and searched through the dark smoke. I exhaled, holding my hand out.

Time to put the magic Yen Sid taught me to good use.

“TORNADO!”

A breeze began to whirl around on my palm and it only further grew, devastating winds beginning to swirl as I tossed my hand forward, allowing the winds to manifest and grow, a large size tornado beginning to sweep the area. Brooms began flying up into the air and the Spellican too got drawn into the whirlwind. I covered my face, digging my feet into the ground and prepared the next spell. I only have one shot at this point to hit Spellican dead on. When the tornado began to die down and all the brooms and Spellican were revealed, my eyes narrowed to slits.

_Do it._

“THUNDAGA!”

The ground around emitted with an eerie garnet light and my hair raised up into the air from the sheer electric force surrounding me. “HAH!” I threw my hand down, slamming my hand upon the seal that formed underneath, the markings glowing brightly before multiple bolts of lightning struck down my opponents. I winched, noticing how that Thundaga took more out of me then I expected. I stumbled back slightly, catching sight of the Spellican whirling out of control before death-diving towards the water.

I rushed over to the edge of the platform, looking downwards to see the water ripple and then a pink heart floated up into the air. I grinned madly, turning to see the brooms behind me all the sudden collapsed onto the ground, the water source dripping to an immediate halt.  I gripped a broom tightly, making sure it wasn’t moving no more.  

YES! YES! YES! I did it! I did it! TAKE THAT! I SO DID IT!

“That’s enough.”

Reality returned in an instant and I found myself looking down at Mickey and Yen Sid. Wait, I’m not taller than Yen Sid. I gazed down briefly, noticing I was still two feet hovering from the ground. Oh—

“WHA!” I fell upon my bum, the broom falling to my side and I groaned in pain. _Thanks gravity. Thanks for being there for me._

I grimaced and rubbed my elbow when I looked up to see Yen Sid rising from his seat, walking forward to where I was. I rose from the ground, wiping off my arms and squeezing the remaining water that lingered in my hair. My face was beginning to hurt from how much I was smiling at the moment. I coughed into my fist, attempting to compose myself as Yen Sid towered over me.

“You proved yourself worthy, having defeated the enemy as I requested,” Yen Sid regarded positively. I smiled at the compliment, scratching my cheek at it.

“I guess I finally grasped the concept of some of the magic spells you taught me,” I said, smiling.

Master Yen Sid smiled and snapped his fingers. The broom shook beside me before jumping up, startling myself and the King. I was ready to fling myself to the chair and stomp the broom away when Yen Sid held his hand up.

“Don’t worry, he’s simply going to clean the castle.” Yen Sid reassured.

“Oh….” I scratched my cheek, laughing nervously when the broom began walking towards the door and exit. Heh, I seriously thought I was going to get hit by the broom like Mickey did. I turned my attention back to focus on grand wizard.

“So does this mean I passed the test?” I question hopefully. Master Yen Sid’s lips dropped to a thin line and my heart dropped at the sight. Oh shit, what does he have to say now?!

“Yes, it does.” He answered. I stared with a startle expression before I realized I was staring at him like that and pushed my emotions to the side. I bowed forward with my hair sweeping past to shield my face.

“Thank you Master Yen Sid, I truly appreciate your help!”

Master Yen Sid nodded his head in return and I could only grin. I can finally leave the castle and head back to Twilight Town. For once, I was actually happy to be back in that stuffy mansion.

“Excuse me for a moment Michelle,” I stopped and along with Mickey turned to face Yen Sid “—but I need to have a word with you, alone if you don’t mind.” He expressed clearly. Oh no, I don’t like how this is going.

My gaze slowly met Mickey’s glance of concern and I couldn’t help but smile back reassuringly. Mouthing that I was going to be okay, Mickey nodded and bowed to Yen Sid. He headed out the room without another word and once the door clicked, I turned to face Yen Sid again. Yen Sid motioned towards the seat in front of his desk as he sat down upon his chair. I blinked slowly, my brows furrowing together. I took my seat in front of him, meeting his gaze with a curious question in mind.

Silence followed for a few minutes, then—

“Michelle, I have an important question to ask. One I’m not sure you’ve been informed enough to understand…” Yen Sid began, “In your most recent of test, I observed you were capable of fighting without the keyblade. Though your magic is not at its full potential, I had noticed an unusual surge within your capabilities,”

“Is that supposed to be….bad? It kind of sounds good to me….” I quirked my lips, noticing Master Yen Sid grimacing. His fingers laced together on his desk and a could only feel the silence was beginning to grow uncomfortable.

“A dark force was present when you casted that last spell, even if it was for a moment, to be able to conjure a spell of that magnitude is almost impossible at the current state you’re in.” Master Yen Sid continued. I grimaced slightly, rubbing the back of my neck tenderly. I recalled that moment, those bolts of lightning that struck down the Spellican. I felt great…energized at that moment….but….something did feel off…

“So….where are you going with this….?” I questioned cautiously. Master Yen Sid exhaled.

“I fear it’s nothing I know of…..” I stared at him, rather confused when he continued, "I have seen many succumb to a darkness as such. To be bewitched and lost, controlled by something out of your power. In this day and age, we’ve learned darkness and light can work alongside each other—but to what extent can you hold of it—and what of this darkness that lingers with in you—is something I’m afraid I can’t answer.”

…..What?

I swallowed roughly, allowing the information to sink in. I have darkness inside of me?

I grimaced, rubbing my neck, recalling that brief grip, those blood-lust eyes. Jeez. I shivered at the thought.

“Uhh, no offense Master Yen Sid, but don’t you think it’s too early to make a call like that?” I asked, “I mean, I did lose my keyblade, I’m still trying to regain some touches of magic within myself. Are you sure we’re not exaggerating right now??”

Master Yen Sid sighed, brushing his fingers against one another. He slowly rose from his desk and rounded towards the other door. With a flick of his hand, a puff of smoke began to swirl, images flickering upon the surface. It was my test—I was fighting Spellican. The after effects of the tornado spell had worn off, leaving the creature open for the attack. I remember I casted Thundaga…

Yet the reflection of myself ended up forming a dark red circle upon the ground, latin script entrancing verses that I could not understand. The thunder pummeled into the Spellican and that’s when I broke away, stumbling back.

”Tell me….have you ever seen bolts of lightning as red as the blood that pulses within your veins?” Yen Sid questioned.

“…….” My attention remained on the smoke, unable to understand how I didn’t even realize I casted a move such as that. I thought—I thought I casted a normal thunder spell.

Yen Sid seemed to notice how my attention was caught and casted the smoke away. I shook my head widely, shaking slightly in the seat.

“I’m not here to frighten you child, but I am here to remain as a weary sign of warning,” Master Yen Sid eyes softened, his fingers relaxing, “I’ve seen this happen far too many times then I would like it to….I would wish you nothing but safe endeavors.”

I pressed, my lips, nodding gently. My thoughts however were swirling wildly. I don’t know how to handle that warning when it seems so little right now. I should try to be cautious but how do I know if this is temporary?  How do I know if it’s just me unlocking my magic capabilities since I can’t wield the keyblade at the moment?

I flexed my fingers, stretching them outwards and held my hand out. With that faint grip, before it could even materialize I could already feel the disconnection with the keyblade and the phantom grip vanished. I groaned faintly, rubbing my temples gently as I heaved.

“What should I do….if that happens again…?”

“Caution your actions. Preserve your emotions…..do not let hate and pain consume you.” I frowned, quirking my lips. I already faced a lot of that already….is there chance I can simply go into a relapse. God that would suck….

“If it were to…..?” I managed to ask again. Silence was my sole answer and I gulped slightly at the idea of what could happen. I couldn’t think what might’ve been passed on. Red eyes flickered and I could only shut my eyes tightly, sighing. I hope…it didn’t have to do anything with that.

I simply nodded and gazed back at Master Yen Sid, “Thank you for your advice Master Yen Sid….I do appreciate it.”

“I would like to see you again, Michelle. In the next few weeks, I’ll send the good fairies in order to speak on the latest news—and to see how you’re faring.”

“……..” I sighed gently, nodding and took my chance to stand. I bowed forward, resting my arm against my chest. “Thank you,”

Yen Sid nodded, however, he held a hand up, catching my attention briefly.  

“Michelle—there is one more thing.”

**********************************

“Is everything all right?”

I stepped out of the castle, immediately greeted by King Mickey’s concerned voice. I blinked once as I stared at King Mickey, trying to figure out what he had just said. Jeezes….I was out of it. That was too much information to take in one sitting.

I forced a smile, resting my hands behind my neck.

“Oh yeah, it’s all good, he was giving me some advice,” I paused, recalling the conversation once again. I couldn’t tell him exactly what happened….not yet, “I’ll have to come to the Tower again in a few weeks.”

“Ahh, okay, for a second, I thought he was going to have you take another test.” Mickey shyly admitted. I don’t think I would be able to handle another test like that anytime soon. I laughed sorely, hoping I wouldn’t have to recall the test for the next few weeks. To be heading back to Twilight Town—but wait.

“Now here’s a good question,” I began, catching Mickey’s attention, “How did you get me here in the first place? Did you use the train?”

 Mickey smiled and from his coat pocket, he pulled a crystal. Wait….I know what this is. Wait what. No I don’t….I haven’t seen this thing before. My eyes narrowed yet something in my gut said I knew where this was from. Umm….wait….do I really?

“I had help from this!” Mickey responded. I tilted my head, examining the strange star crystal. I have seen this…..I feel like I have. The name isn’t coming to mind though. It was a transparent, turquoise crystal, the bolt sticking from the center to the outer edge of the crystal made me think it was like a shooting star.  “What exactly is it?”

“It’s called a Star Shard, it’s how I’ve been getting around to all of these different worlds,” Mickey explained, holding out the crystal out towards me, “I couldn’t risk Riku taking you here by a dark portal so I had this take us here.”

I stared curiously at the star shaped crystal, resisting the temptation to hopelessly stare and wonder it’s munny value.

“Heh, sometimes it acts on its own mind though,” Mickey admitted.

Acts on its own???

I blinked tentatively and reached forward to take the Star Shard off his hand. The minute I touched it though it began to glow and my eyes widen when the light began to grow. Oh crap, what did I do?!  I shielded my face with my arm, shutting my eyes tightly as the light only grew and grew. What the heck is going on?!

I gasped sharply when the air around me began to bounce wildly around and I could feel myself being thrown in random directions. “WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAAA”

Sounds like Mickey is dealing with the exact same thing too. Ugh. The light show suddenly came to an end and I felt myself crash into a firm surface, bruising my forehead upon the impact. I groaned loudly, blinking wildly as the surrounding scenery was still too blurry to make out. Where the heck did we end up?! Wait a second, is King Mickey even here in the first place?!

I groaned once more, rolling onto my back and shut my eyes. Once I opened them again, I could begin to make out the trees that hovered above, blowing gently in the wind. I sat up, rubbing the back of my neck and my eyes. I blinked multiple times till finally things began to become clearer. Wait…..am I back in Twilight Town?

 “Ugh….my head…” I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck. “Mickey???”

No response came back and I stumbled to get on my feet. The world was whirling and i stumbled back into the tree, gripping on for dear life as to not puke my guts out onto the grass. When finally my head began to straighten out for the second time, I began to cautiously look around the open space to find Mickey was nowhere in sight. 

“Your Majesty!” I called out, searching the area.

I looked around my surrounding and indeed it was the forest that was in front of the Mansion. I blinked slowly before looking up, watching as light zigzagged in the air.

“I’ll see you soon pal!” Echoed loudly before the lights disappeared in a flick. I blinked slowly at where the lights once was and I sighed, rubbing my head. Oh great job Michelle, you lost King Mickey.

I groaned, slapping my forehead in disappointment. I need to start telling myself to not touch things…cause then you lose your friends. I quirked my lips, shoving my hands into my pockets and began to head towards the mansion.

I blew my bangs to push them to the side, strutting to the mansion and opened the doors. I was greeted with the quiet atmosphere of the main room, everything seemingly in order. Nothing has changed, no chaos has rained down, no attack, everything looks normal. My eyes darted around the room and carefully heading towards the staircase. Without any disturbance of any sort, I manage to reach Namine’s room without any problem. Opening the doors, I found Namine unfortunately was not residing in the room at the moment. I raised a brow, quietly closing the door and turned to look across the room to the door to the library. Ugh….do I even want to face DiZ right now?

I traced my hands along the railing, accepting the fate I was going to have to go back downstairs to my room and lock myself away in there. I didn’t even want to know what would happen if I did go.

“Michelle? What happened?”

I stopped walking and turned, finding the familiar silverette waiting patiently in the center of the room, his head tilted towards my general direction. I gulped lightly, flexing my fingers briefly within the gloves before gripping the railing tightly. I exhaled, rubbing my neck and blew my bangs from my face.

What happened…is such a good question at this point. I rubbed my cheek and continued heading down the steps till I finally reached the floor.

“It’s…a long story,”


	17. Shadows of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whelp, that was quick. -w- but now you guys know i was actually doing stuff in the meantime while being gone for months. Yaaaaay, i was being productive secretly. Now if only my fire emblem story cooperated with me. Oh welll, that'll be done soon. This is to make up for lost months for this story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter--warning though, it may get a little brutal towards the end. Tense conversations, yo.
> 
> Until next time~~

[Day 350]

Status update so far….nothing has changed.

It’s been a while since I’ve been back in the mansion, ten days to be exact.

I rested atop of the covers of my bed, exhaling loudly and drifted my head to the side, patiently staring towards the door. I was waiting for Riku honestly at this point to come up knocking. Explaining him the current situation, however degrading to my pride it might have been the best decision I’ve made in a while. Riku didn’t bother me with questions as I imagined in my head. He accepted what happened….and we just kept doing what we had to keep doing. I blinked wearily, gazing back glossily towards the ceiling. My world seemed blurred, unable to settle and think of the objective at hand. I rubbed my cheek tiredly and forced myself to sit up on my bed.

Get up. Find Riku. Get to work. That was it. That’s what I had to do.

I sighed, turning on my bed once more to briefly gaze towards my desk. The D.S rested near the scattered collected pages of my journal and remnants of DiZ’s. I stared coldly towards the items of the desk and my fingers tightened along the blanket. I wanted to smash it, to smash all these memories. This horrible side of a story for an incredible sad ending to partake. I wanted to burn the evidence of my sorrows, of my pain, misery, and rid the world of the secrets that DiZ hid.  I exhaled heavily, rubbing my neck when I heard the triple knock on my door.

There he was. Right on cue.

I begrudgingly sat up, rubbing my arms wearily. I finally stood up, running a hand through my hair to untangle the knots. Ow, there’s a lot of knots in my hair.

I opened the door carefully and looked up to find Riku patiently waiting by the wall beside, his arms crossed firmly against his chest as he drummed his fingers against his arms. I nodded briefly in his direction and turned, locking the door behind me. Riku beckoned me with a tilt of his head and I began to follow after him. Climbing down the stairs, I continued to brush and unknot the mane that was my hair. At this point, I feel like Riku understood the necessity of the quietness. Sometimes it felt agonizing though, I wonder if he wanted to ask me something.

There’s been too many questions in my head these days, like, the topic Yen Sid brought up….

I slowed down on the descent, my thoughts traveling back to the moment where Yen Sid stopped me.

“The….Keyblade….Wars….” I breathed.

**********************************

[FLASHBACK]

_“Michelle…have you ever heard something called the Keyblade Wars?”_

_“….Sir?”_

_Master Yen Sid stood from his desk, heading to his bookshelves. His hand traced over the lining of the backs before picked up a specific book. He quietly brought the book over to the desk and opened it up. I leaned briefly to peek at the book, settling back into the chair as Yen Sid returned to his seat._

_“I fear….there is much I must inform you on…” Yen Sid began. With a flick of his wrist, the pages began flipping till a certain page had unfolded for me to read. I looked to Yen Sid and he gestured towards it. I swallowed briefly_

_“Over a hundred years ago— the Worlds were all connected…..the children of those unified worlds all cherished the light in which they lived in. However, greed began to pollute and tarnish; war began to unfold.” He sighed as my eyes began to scan the pages. Old texts from ages gone detailed a war that seemed to occur, breaking out over possession of light—a prophecy predicted long ago._

_“It is an event in time where thousands of keyblade wielders gathered in combat. Darkness consumed many, those escaping had lost their way, and everything seemed to be lost in that very moment of our history. There is a place however, that seems to hold as a place of reminder to the past—a place known as the Keyblade Graveyard.”_

_“The….Keyblade Graveyard? Doesn’t the Keyblade disappear after its owner passes on?” I asked._

_“No, the keyblade, unlike its owner, remains behind as a grim reminder of the fallen.” Yen Sid explained. I frowned, looking shoddily down towards the book. It seems I was going to be learning much more…than I ever expected._

**********************************

“Michelle?”

“Hmm?” I lifted my head up, finding Riku was waiting patiently in the center of the room, his lips quirked ever so slightly. I blinked jadedly and I gasped silently, shaking my head roughly. Dang it, I got side tracked again!

“Lost in your thoughts, huh?” Riku assumed, catching onto what I was about to say. I sheepishly sighed, rubbing my neck and nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s…that sort of day again,” I explained, resting my hands on my hips. “So, what was the mission The Great DiZ assigned to us today?”

“He didn’t,” Riku responded.

I abruptly stopped my descent down the stairs, staring at him. Not this again, he must be doing something in his lab if he’s not focusing on assigning missions for Riku and me to take care of. I huffed angrily, recalling the last time I didn’t have a mission. It wasn’t so long ago now that I think about it.

“Again?” I demanded, “This is the fifth day in a row!”

“He’s been stuck in his lap for two weeks now, it doesn’t surprise me as much.” Riku said and I frowned in response.

DiZ works constantly in order to repair Sora’s memories, that much is true…but I don’t trust it. I don’t trust that it’s genuine work unlike Namine’s conviction. The times when I ask DiZ about his progress, I never get an answer. I always get this concentrated pain in my chest, an anger beginning to weld up every time I was denied access to see Sora and the others on days like this. I don’t trust this man who says he was going to help save Sora—he was doing something completely in his own agenda.

I scoffed lowly, looking towards the door to the library. I need to confront him about this—once and for all. I’m going to rip his door off the hinges and smash him with it—

“Whoa there, Michelle. Hold on,” Riku had reached out and grabbed hold of my wrist, tugging firmly to keep me from moving forward. I sneered, snapping my wrist to escape but Riku held firm, keeping me at bay. I growled lowly, now looking to his blindfolds. Slowly but surely, I allowed my anger to simmer away, exhaling heavily. I finally pulled away, finishing the descent down the stairs and huffed, turning back to him.  

“All right, then why did you take me out here?” I demanded. Riku lips tightened before a lazy smirk rested upon instead.

“Let’s go,”

I crossed my arms lazily, exhaling through my nose, “What are you talking about?”

“I can only assume you want to get out and relax for a bit. Considering how this year has gone so far.” Riku pointed out. I merely stared at him, still not understanding where all of this was coming from. Why was he being so nice to me right now?

I shook my head, scoffing softly and looked at him again. I drummed my fingers against my arm, tapping my foot impatiently on the ground, trying to think of the offer. He sounded rather genuine about it. Well, Riku is that kind of person that wouldn’t go off and make offers without a reason. I hummed softly, finally looking back at him.

“Where to then?” I asked.

“We can leave it as a surprise….if you trust me,” I stiffened at the sound of that word, the hair on my neck standing up with goosebumps. No, he had to say it. I bit my lip, looking down momentarily and rubbed my arm. Riku seemed to have caught the unpleasant nature.

“Even if you don’t, might as well relax. Come on, you can even pick,”

He’s being way too nice right now. Something is seriously up. We’ve never been on super friendly terms. It’s always been….serious. I frowned at the mere idea of that, guilt begin to fill my entire being. I don’t even think we can consider ourselves friends, now could we?

Maybe acquaintances…as much…as I wish to put this whole thing behind us. Or at least myself.

I hummed softly, allowing the information to sink in and began to think of all the worlds. There were so many and to think of it not as a mission, I don’t know what to do with myself. I guess the only place I can imagine where it could be relaxing….is by the water.

“How about Destiny Island?” I suggested. I met his gaze or more so him looking towards my direction. I heard a soft hum emit from his direction before he nodded.

“All right, come on then,” He turned and held his hand up, darkness swirling and rising from the floor.

I blinked slowly, staring at him for a moment then towards the portal. My chest pounded in fear, the idea revolving around why he even asked me to come with him was whirling violently in my head. Just go….just go. I hesitated heading down the steps but finally I stood by the entrance of the portal and with a slight pause, I walked in.

The darkness was embracing, the souls that were lost in its grasp wailing in silent despair whenever I walked through these dark corridors. Was it of those who had perished in the darkness or was it those who currently wrapped around its tight grip, it could’ve been all above. I’ve seen how cruel the darkness can be but how soothing the darkness could be in smothering it’s victims. The darkness always wanted to have more victims but only those who had fallen into the pit of despair, anger, hatred, could be constantly collected. It’s harder to collect those who hadn’t fallen into the pit, who had smiles on their faces, with bliss and innocence that burned brightly within their hearts.

To this day, the darkness interested me. Always being afraid of the darkness, to wonder what would happen if you began to allow yourself to sink into the pool of obscurity. It's amazing honestly how some gain strength from the darkness while others have no hope of survival. Though, the power comes with a price, one I am not willing to pay my life for. What decided to lurk in the darkness that bothered me to no end will always come to haunt me. No matter what I do, I must always keep a wary eye over my shoulder of those that may come for us.

After walking for a few minutes in the endless abyss, I felt a waver in the darkness and I looked to the side seeing a light appear in the darkness. My eyes narrowed and I began to head towards it hoping to god that it wasn't going to leave me up in the air or something like that. Or in the ocean, because that’s a great way to get to Destiny Island. Get right to it.

Stepping towards the light, I immersed myself into the warm, bright rays that shined. I found my eyes quickly blinking, the light reflecting off nearly everything, especially the water that pulled in and out by my feet.  I looked around, namely the bed of sand that sunk my shoes slightly. I sighed in relief before glancing upwards seeing the clear bright skies above me. Destiny Island….wow. It was so breath-taking here. This place was a reminder of happier times and better memories. Times were everything was simple and dreams of sailing and finding new worlds still existed. I exhaled, my eyes lifting towards the sunset that was beginning to descend into the sky.

My breath was taken away, absolutely stunned by the magnificent view. The rays of orange and red reflected off the water, absolutely memorizing to watch. I laughed softly, feeling my eyes tear slightly from the mere sight. I could honestly sit here for hours and wonder….why would Sora, Riku, and Kairi want to leave such a place like this??

I quickly removed my black coat, throwing it to the side and relished feeling the sun upon my bare arms. My legs weren’t going to be so fortunate in getting the tan it most likely needs but soon enough. Soon enough I’ll actually look similar to my siblings and people can say I’m actually Hispanic. I pouted, resting my arms on my knees and sighed gently.

“Enjoying the view?” Riku called out. I scoffed gently, drumming my knees briefly. I tilted my head slightly to find Riku join a few feet beside me, casually stretching his leg out and raising his other arm on his bent knee.

“Yeah, I am. This place has such a gorgeous sunset…” My eyes casted off towards the sunset, finding myself mesmerized by the shades of orange that filled not only the sky but the water.

“It’s quiet here, that’s for sure,” Riku remarked.

“Yeah it is. I wish I was able to get a view like this at home.” I said, envying the idea to see this every day and night.  

“Heh, it gets boring after a while,” Riku admitted. This place getting boring?

I almost scoffed at the idea when I slowly looked down to my hands, suddenly thinking back to when I was home. With my friends and family. I’ve lived in that same town for my entire life, born and raised.

“You know, I guess I can understand where you get that from. You’ve lived here all your life.” I said softly. The water splashed against my feet and my toes curled back. I sighed gently, rubbing the back of my neck and met the glorious hues of the sunset again, “I bet if you went to my world, you’d probably wonder why I would want to leave the forest wonderland I had there….”

“Hmm, I suppose you have a point,” Riku admitted and I turned, raising a brow to him. Riku rested his legs fully on the ground, resting his palms flat on the sand and gazed towards the sky, “I guess, now that I think about it, it’s a part of growing up. You grow bored of what’s so normal, wanting to see new sites and dreams but you can’t deny after being gone for so long, that home definitely hits a certain nostalgic spot.”

I hummed softly, nodding in agreement as I casted my attention from the sunset to him now. I blinked slowly, tilting my head at him. I think….now was the time to say it. “Riku…”

“Michelle, I need to ask you something,” Oh come on man, “I’m not sure if you remember before you had passed out about what King—I mean Mickey and I were discussing…” Riku began. I turned to properly look at him, recalling the moments before I had passed out. I was listening—but I accepted so casually—I don’t know if he took it seriously. Now that we were out here by ourselves, we could talk face to face.

“No, I remember, I said I was going to—” I bit my lip, sighing gently, rubbing the back of my neck. I was going to keep it all a secret. That whatever was going to happen to him was unstoppable. It couldn’t be helped in the long run.

“Riku, wait, I need to get something off my chest.” I looked back at him, quirking my lips. “It’s been killing me that I haven’t actually told you already.”

“What is it?” Now it was Riku’s turn to look over to me, a silver brow raised. I rubbed my wrist gently, exhaling the circumstance. I was never good at this sort of thing. I swallowed roughly, hitting my chest, hoping to get this over with as fast as possible.

“I’m sorry—for how I’ve acted towards you for the past year,” I began, “I know it’s mainly because I had this mindset that you were this cocky, arrogant, mysterious cool kind of guy—” Riku began chuckling causing my cheeks to begin to burn, digging a gloved hand into the sand. I smacked sand towards his direction and sighed loudly in annoyance. This was already embarrassing enough, “Did I forget sarcastic? Maybe a bit of an ass. That was on the list too.”

“I’m flattered to hear.” Riku coughed into his hand, a smirk resting on his face. I rolled my eyes, scoffing as I dug my fingers down the dark pants.

 “Regardless, Riku….thank you. I’ll admit, you really had my back, even when I didn’t want you to, when I didn’t deserve it. I shouldn’t have been one to judge you. You’ve changed a lot…” I concluded, fiddling with my fingers.

“Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect that coming from you,” Riku admitted.

I blinked in surprise, frowning briefly, “Hey!”

“Heh…” Riku shook his head, his silver locks flowing behind him. “Guess that’s why I trust you to look after Sora…you’re honest, fiercely stubborn, and I think you’ve probably matured a lot for someone your age.” He admitted sincerely. I blinked slowly, not expecting that what’s so ever. Did he just compliment me???

“You……trust me?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” Riku looked to my general direction. “Don’t you trust me…?”

That word. I frowned gently, rubbing my neck and looked down to the sand. I’ve had a lot of trust issues in my life. Especially when it came to guys being close to me.

“I…if I told you yes now, I would be lying. Give me time and perhaps I will. If it means well…..I do consider you my friend now…” I looked over to him, smiling lightly. That was the most I can say at a moment like this. Riku was my friend. He’s more than enough deserved that. My trust wasn’t something so easily won.

Riku smirked, nodding gently. “Fair enough,”

From that moment on, it was quiet. We seemed to silently agree on enjoying the sunset, however long it might have been. We simply sat on the beach, watching as the tides ceased and brushed briefly past my feet. I wished the hours didn’t pass as fast as they did. To watch as the sun slowly began to set, the waves consuming it into a watery pit, time was running out.

“Are you sure….you don’t want my help?” I questioned softly.

Riku shook his head, looking to the remainder of the sunset, sighing “it’s something I only can do….”  

I rubbed my face, hearing that stupid saying again. It was something only I can do. It was only me. I am the fucking chosen one for this job. Ugh. I folded my arms over my knees, sighing gently. I grew tired of fighting, arguing on my beliefs and what not. I had so much hope but sometimes…it dried up. I sighed softly, swallowing the fear I had away and looked at Riku. I did trust him to an extent. I could trust him to come back. I knew at some point he was going to come back.

“Then I promise Riku,”

**********************************

Returning back from the portal, I exhaled gently, rubbing the back of my neck. Riku followed shortly as the portal closed behind him. I guess I’ll never be able to look at him the same way again. It’s fascinating, how far we’ve come from how we started. I thought back to the moments on the beach and smiled softly, rather relieved that we reached this point.

“Well,” I sighed gently, ruffling my hair gently. “I guess I’ll see you later Riku—”

Suddenly the whole mansion shook, the chandelier above rattling and shaking heavily. Looking around the room simultaneously, we gazed towards each other. Where the heck did it come from probably would’ve been the correct question. Though it was clear where the shaking had occurred. My eyes darted towards the library, feeling my arms begin to shake at the idea. It had to be DiZ, who else could it have been. He’s literally been alone all day, allowed to do whatever he wish he could do.

 “Michelle—” Riku began and I snapped my attention to him.

“I need to check” I insisted.

“You know how you both get—it probably was nothing,” Riku pressed. I frowned, looking at him sternly and shook my head.

“But you know it can be _something,”_ I pushed back. Riku rubbed his face roughly as I frowned. I’m not going to wait any longer for answers.

Without so much as a second thought, I bolted up the stairs, quickly using the momentum of my speed to whirl around on the rails. I bolted open the library door, hurriedly going down the stairs. With the quick movements, I entered into the computer room to find—no one?

I darted my attention around the room, taken aback by the lack of his presence. Where was he?

I blinked gently, decided to check if he was in any of the other rooms, maybe checking on Sora’s pod. That…could’ve been the results of the whole place rattling. I gulped gently, walking through the parted doors and followed the memories of old. My steps glided along the rooms and my attention was more focused as I entered the dimmed hallway, the light of each pod guaranteeing I wasn’t going to smack into something.

I grimaced, my attention averting to the pods, catching notice of Donald and Goofy’s pods. I sighed gently, resting a hand upon on Donald’s pod, looking between the two.

“Don’t worry, we’re almost done—” I paused, suddenly catching notice that one of the pods seemed to be…fogged up. I blinked cautiously, already thinking that was a bad sign. While all the other pods were normal, why did this one seem different?

I carefully went over, gripping my fingers in the inside of my coat sleeve and brought it up to wipe the glass off. The fog reappeared once or twice but once I got good amount of the fog off, I peered inside.

What I saw…wasn’t what I expected to see.

I gasped loudly, taking a step back and clutched my chest. That couldn’t be what I think it was. No way. DiZ wasn’t this insane on his experiments, was he?

 My insides turned and I clenched my teeth, that image burning in my mind. What was DiZ doing down here?!

“Michelle?” I nearly jolted from my position, turning slowly to find DiZ standing at the entrance of the room that held Sora’s Pod. I stared at DiZ, my senses already on high alert. I couldn’t trust him anymore. Not after seeing that.

“You’ve been gone for a while,” DiZ remarked casually. I turned fully towards him, exhaling heavily, nodding in agreement.

“Nice of you to notice…hasn’t been that long really,” I answered carefully, positioning myself away from the pod.

“Of course it wasn’t…” DiZ responded and I frowned in retaliation. Already the room felt tense, the corners of the walls begin to angle and point towards my escape. I felt like I wasn’t going to get out of this room that easily. My eyes darted towards the pod. The idea rattled in my head and I swallowed roughly, thinking back to Riku on the beach.

Did he even know about this?

“You seem troubled,” DiZ’s words echoed in my head and I turned slowly, my insides beginning to rattle and rumble in a faint anger. I think I was hitting the point. This seemed a good time to snap.

“Do I really?” I mockingly responded. I took a few steps towards his direction, my eyes locked on his one golden eye, that eye that always analyzed, criticized my very being.

“Well, for your information, I am a little troubled,” His eye already had narrowed and I knew even though he kept staring at me, his gaze seemed to have carried over to the pod. DiZ huffed in an unamused tone, folding his arms behind his back and began to head back into Sora’s pod room.

“Then pray tell, what is it?”

“Oh….don’t even _begin_ to play this game with me, DiZ,” I sneered, earning a patient glare from DiZ, “I’ve been patient, I’ve never bothered you about what you were doing down here, I never dared tried spying on you on what you were exactly doing with my friends on the respect of your privacy…but….” I pointed back towards the pod, “this is too far…”

DiZ said nothing as I came around, facing him with my arms spread apart.

“DiZ, what are you doing down here?! What _/was/ that_ I saw back in that pod?!” I demanded. DiZ’s lips seemed to tighten and he exhaled, looking to Sora’s pod. “What else have you been doing down here?!”

“It is none of your concern,”

Wrong answer bud. My eyes narrowed and my teeth clenched fiercely together.

“None of my concern? Oh really?” I rested a hand on my chest. “Should this be Riku’s concern then? Should I call a manager—?!”

“Michelle—”

“No!” I glared, gripping my hands into fists. “You’re going to listen to me! This is the one /fucking/ time you /will/ listen to me!”

I exhaled heavily, feeling my heart beat loudly in my chest, my entire body shaking. I couldn’t breathe, I just wanted to scream at him right now. No, come on, say what you wanted to say for months now. This was your chance, just do it. I sighed gently, allowing my breath to come back to me before I met DiZ’s stern gaze. I needed to calm down before I lost myself to my emotions.

“Do you remember when we first met?” I questioned, “How you came out of nowhere?  I never seemed to suspect you as a threat. It was clear that I knew who you were….and when you gave me that offer to help my friends, to protect them while they slept,” I laughed shakily, brushing my hair out of my face, “how could I refuse that offer?”

DiZ remained patient as I paced around the room, collecting my next thoughts. Of all my experiences, of all my struggles, of all the pain—

“I didn’t know what to suspect when I began working with you. I didn’t expect the constant struggle, the constant missions. I mean, I guess on my part I should have expected that. I should’ve molded myself to become a better fighter. At the same time, I didn’t expect the secrets, the cold and closed doors that baited me from your grand presence, oh Ansem the Wise…”

That seemed to hit a trigger as his eye narrowed greatly. My eyes lifted and glared. I wasn’t going to stop, no, I was going to say everything.

“The way you treated us….Riku, Namine, myself, it was irresponsible. You treated this whole thing as a game, a stupid game for your revenge plot. To be locked in here for two weeks….without knowing what you’re doing,” I placed a hand on my face, exhaling heavily. “Do you know how that drives us crazy? That Riku worries that his friend’s life could be endanger every single day!”

“Riku already knows of the sacrifices that has to be made.” DiZ argued as I turned to face him once more, frowning.

“This is beyond even my comprehension that you still don’t get it! For that—” I directed my hand towards the new pod, the fog having returned to shield what was inside. “—to even be here! That wasn’t even a part of our /deal/, DiZ!”

His voice boomed suddenly, “Enough!”

I stepped back, not expecting that fierce cut off. His eye simmered with a deep annoyance that I knew was beginning to build up. “I’ve heard more than enough nonsense spew from your mouth than that wretched witch in her failed attempt to fix the keyblader—”

“SHE HAS A NAME!” I bellowed, throwing my arms down, “NAMINE! HER NAME IS NAMINE! AND HIS NAME IS SORA!”

I stood in front of the large pod that held my friend, glancing momentarily towards it before focusing my attention back on DiZ. Stay calm, please for all that is mighty stay calm. Don’t get scared—don’t think.

“You’ve gone completely obsessive with your research, DiZ!” I told him. DiZ frowned, resting his hands now on his sides.

“Young lady, you shall not dare discredit my efforts of halting the Organization, while trying to reorganize your friend’s entire existence!” He said angrily. I buried my face into my hands, inhaling so sharply, I could feel my ribs rattle.

“You’re not listening! Locking yourself here in two weeks, doing God knows what experimentation, morally—”

“Then how do you propose to take over this?” DiZ demanded, “I’m sure you’ll know what’s best then. You’ll know how to piece together Sora’s memories.”

I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment and I looked down, my fists locked tightly, “DiZ please! Listen to yourself! This is not healthy, you are nothing but obsessed with revenge. Revenge for whatever betrayal and mistakes YOU AND YOUR APPRENTICES HAVE CAUSED!”

Silence lingered after I had shouted the truth and I exhaled heavily, feeling my face burn and my insides twist with the upper hand. I knew I was already letting him know why too much. At this point, I feel like DiZ knew that already, so why not prove a point. DiZ remained still, watching as his chest rose underneath of his robes, watching as his jaw clenched. I exhaled heavily, continuing on.

“Yes, I know about it. How Radiant Garden fell, how the heartless that were created from these—these cruel experiments that your apprentices had done behind your back. These experiments ended up consuming the world you ruled! Your apprentices betrayed you! They stripped you of power, humility, and morality, they made you into a shadow of the man you once were, Ansem the Wise!”

Already I was getting worried when he didn’t say anything and I took a step forward. “DiZ….do you know how compulsively obsessive this is? Is your need for revenge that great? That you’re willing to sacrifice others? That you’ve forgotten about caring for others?”

“Enough! Do not say another word, young lady!” He slammed his fist against the control pad that controlled everything that had to do with Sora’s process. I stiffened, taking a few steps back, taken aback by the tone in his voice. The rage that simmered…shit. I definitely took it too far.

“I am done listening your trivia, you do not understand /anything/ that has happened, to allow the people I sought to protect with nothing but ruins! You have /no/ right to goad me child, when you could not do the same for one boy!”

Oh god he did not just say that. He did not just say that!

My anger flared and the tears that began to weld in the corners of my eyes began to trail down my face. I snapped my attention momentarily towards Sora’s pod, already feeling that sense of failure linger from it. Yet, I knew if Sora could hear any of this right now…he knew he would say the opposite…that I had done the best I could. He was always so nice, even when somebody had made a mistake. I exhaled through my nose, a sense of attitude simmering once more.

“At least I never experimented to kill people! This is not a chance for you to redeem your errors DiZ, those people are not coming back!”

“ENOUGH!” His voice bellowed, “I am done! You may come from another realm where you may know about me but to say you know more than myself is outrageous! I’ve had enough! Get out of my sight or else your friend will never awaken—” My heart stopped and I caught his gaze, immediately feeling fear begin to pool down my body. He wasn’t fucking joking, he was going to shut this down. Oh god.

“—I will make certain of it!” He sneered.

In that very moment, things were too real for me to comprehend. The rage that simmered in his voice, I knew not to cross that line. It sounded like my dad, every time he was drunk. The anger of his past begins to bubble, ever floating enough not to completely spill over. It could consume a whole room, swallowing everything in its wake. DiZ wasn’t drunk in the sense of alcohol though. His rage, his desire for revenge has fogged his judgements, diminished his perception of reality and molded it into this horrible reality he was creating.  I kept my gaze towards the ground, my ragged breaths echoing in my head. I felt like my heart was stuck in my throat at this time, beating so loudly…I felt sick. I had to go, if I didn’t…..this was going to end badly. Instead of storming out like I wanted to, I bent forward, my hair spilling over my face. I bowed gently forward before returning back to normal, my eyes dead.

Without another word, I turned and hastily made my way out of the pod room. Out his computer room, out the library, out the mansions doors. I couldn’t stop running till I had escaped into the woods, the tears that had pooled down my face coming down harder than I expected them to have. I finally came to a stop, dropping to my knees and clutched my face, sobbing into the ground. All the pain I felt, all the bottled emotions I had towards him was being let loose in this one moment. Nothing seemed to make sense at that moment. Everything I kept telling myself to do was beginning to die down on me and crash. I wanted to scream, I wanted to take back everything I had ever done. I didn’t want to wield the keyblade, I didn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of Flare, Nelixad, Dekrex—

I just wanted to cry….I just wanted this to go away. I wanted this to end. I wanted my friends back…I wanted to go home…

I rubbed my face roughly, trying to recall where I left the stupid shield out here. It was somewhere close in here, I didn’t want to bring it inside so I left it by one of the trees. Sniffing heavily, I began searching around for the stupid shield, ready to grab it and go anywhere but here. Just wait out the remaining days anywhere that wasn’t there. I sighed in frustration, catching sight of something shining in the midst of the leaves. The shield rested there and I brushed off the remainder dirt off. I briefly took a moment to catch my reflection, noticing the dark lines that drifted underneath my eyes. I sighed gently, rubbing my neck. This was something that wasn’t going away so easily. As I stood up, I caught notice of something in the shield. Something was forming behind me—I spun around, surprised to find a dark portal was forming. For a split second, I thought it was going to be Riku. I had almost expected and hoped it was. When the brilliant red locks and dark coat member of Organization XIII, my heart stopped like a cinder block.

“Why, hello there, Michelle” Axel greeted.


	18. Through the Fire and Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah ha ha ha......ha. 
> 
> Finally, this is the second to last chapter for this entire freaking story. Yup, the next chapter i'm going to end it with a bang. What I originally had for this chapter--nay--this entire series changed from this one chapter so now I have to rework a lot of future content and ready myself for what's to come. I want to thank everyone who's read this so far and for those who are also interested in my Fire Emblem series, that's going to be updated finally very soon. I wanted to catch up on this series before jumping back onto the Awakening boat. 
> 
> So I hope you all have a good day--don't die. Don't go in 110 degree hell fire that is the outside world. Don't do it. Anyways, until next time~

“Axel…?” I acknowledged, staggering onto my feet, wiping my face roughly as I caught site of the flaming nobody. He seemed to raise a brow as I clenched the shield tightly in my position. I didn’t know what to expect with the sudden visit. My mind was still barely held from being in shambles right now. I was slowly starting to feel the hair on the ends of my neck rise from the appearance of the Nobody.

“Not looking so hot, are ya?” Axel pointed out casually.

I ended up rolling my eyes, sniffing, rubbing my wrist against my eyes roughly before shaking my head. My arms were still shaking over the brief cry I was allowed to have. I was trying to stay completely composed yet all I wanted to do was cry again. I had to get over this though, this isn’t the time anymore. Not when he’s here. Something is definitely wrong if he’s here.

I positioned myself straighter, rubbing my face and inhaled shakily. I had to recollect myself before even attempting to talk. The last thing I needed was my voice cracking from all the crying I was doing ten minutes ago. I swallowed lightly, recalling his blunt comment and scoffed lowly.

“No, duh,” I murmured before hastily looking at him, “What do you want? I’m already in a bad enough mood…” I warned him.

Axel took a moment to collect a single emotion on his face. His steps began to lead him, and when I noticed he was standing at the entrance to Twilight Town from the Woods, I felt frozen on the spot. I opened my mouth to say something, but it was cut off from the confusion that was beginning to spur in mind.

“Well it’s not to chat,” Axel retorted.

I frowned, rolling my eyes and kept a steady stance on the ground. I kept having this nerving feeling something terrible was going to happen. After all, what better way to keep this day going right?

“I figured. There’s only so much I can imagine you’re here for—” My eyes focused on his hands, noticing how he was clenching his hands into fists before relaxing them, repeating this as I hesitated, “I guess I should leave you to do your thing then.”

I was ready to turn with the shield in hand when I heard a whizz ring. I didn’t hesitate to throw myself to the ground, barely having dodged one of Axel’s chakram whirling and flaming. It scorched across a thick tree trunk, the tree moaning and cracking as it began to wane backwards. I scrambled to get back to my feet and raised the shield defensively, looking back at Axel. Axel caught his chakram, the expressionless mask consuming his every action.

“You really made a mess this time.” His eyes were unavoidable and narrowed, and I felt my heart drop instantly. He knew about Flare…..he knows she’s gone.

I opened my mouth, “Axel—”

“You know, I even got put on this icky mission to take you out because of what you’ve done,” Axel interrupted and that’s when my body froze. Wh-what?

His attention darted back up to me, a loud hum ringing from his direction. “It looks like you stepped out of the line this time Michelle,”

“Axel, wait! You don’t understand—” I held my hands up, exhaling heavily, hearing my ears ring loudly. I squeaked loudly when flames erupted behind me and I leapt forward. I stumbled, finding the red-haired assassin was not in the mood to listen. I hesitated and cringed at the furious expression that dawned on his face. Talking was out of the question by this point.

“I think I understand perfectly,” He retorted, a smirk drifting along his face. Sweat trailed down my temple and I swallowed roughly, clenching my fist together. I threw out my right arm, holding the other arm close to my body.

“Axel, you don’t know half of the story!” I exclaimed loudly. Axel’s brows furrowed as his chakrams suddenly whirled to life beside him, catching them easily. My eyes widen but I clenched my teeth at that moment. There was no way I was going to talk Axel out of this. I was going to have to beat him up to get the truth driven into him.

I raised the shield, instantly to block Axel’s incoming chakram. I stumbled back from the sheer force, gasping when I had smacked the chakram back. I could already hear Axel chuckling in amusement at the display of the whimsy shield I was wielding. I had no other choice though. My eyes narrowed as he caught his chakram once more.

“What, you’re not even going to bother fighting me at your best?” The Nobody demanded. “I feel rather insulted.”

I scoffed, spinning the handle of the shield, electricity generating between my fingertips, “THUNDER RAID!”

I hurled the shield towards his direction, bolts of electricity emitting in nearly every direction. Axel slid against the ground, knocking the shield away with his chakram. I grimaced vividly, taking large steps back from Axel’s wide slices in the air. I ducked and stepped back, avoiding the curbs of his aggressive attacks. My memories were flashing to my time in Castle Oblivion, when I had first fought Axel. The flames licking against the white walls, the cuts that seared on my knees. If things weren’t different from before, this was going to end badly.

This cycle of relentless teasing continued as I attempted to formulate a plan, a desperate escape at this point. The way Axel was fighting right now was to take no prisoners. He attacked swiftly, his attention to detail absorbing my attack pattern, mesmerizing how to counter and dodge my repetitive magic. My shield pressed into the skin of my wrist as I continued to block his head on attacks, feeling the flames lick across my face.  My eyes darted temporarily off Axel, darting towards the gaping hole that lead to Twilight Town. If I can escape through there—

“Pay attention!” Axel’s voice boomed.

I was met with a burst of flames, knocking my center of balance off. I stumbled on the soles of my feet, swinging my arms widely when Axel took the opportunity, slamming his elbow into my gut. Probably as lethal as his chakrams, I was met with an onslaught of a vicious attack of flames and a cut down my leg. I seized back my posture, slamming the shield against the steel spikes of his chakram, gritting my teeth aggressively. I caught Axel’s sneer, his teeth gritting as he pushed forth, swinging his other arm over his head. I paled, letting my defense drop to block the other attack and leapt back.

I whirled and tumbled, the shield currently beginning to wane from the heat. I pressed my palm against the metal, freezing the exterior to allow the metal to cool. I grimaced from the intense sting of the gash that ran down my leg, feeling the stream of blood run down freely. It hasn’t even been ten minutes and I was already limping. This was not good—I’m not going to survive fighting against Axel. Not at this state I’m in.

My attention averted to the hole, looking past Axel’s stance. I have to take my chance, it’s now or never.

I snapped my hand towards Axel’s range and hurled several lightning spells. The Nobody skillfully leapt backwards dodging most of the spells allowing me to make my sprint. I casted a spell of ice towards the ground, creating a thick layer of ice across the ground. Axel nearly tripped on the new surface and I took the chance to leap upon it, using the momentum to skid across the ice. When I grew closer to Axel, I dropped onto my back and avoided the downward strikes of his chakrams. I skidded off the ice, picking myself to run towards the opening, giving it all that I can. I can make it—

“BURN BABY!” The surrounding area suddenly lit up into flames and I shielded my face from the incoming heat that whipped against my face. I hissed, stepping back from the wall of flames that now barred me from leaving.

“No running now!” Axel teased, the flames dancing behind him. Fuck, crap, double crap.

What the hell am I going to do to get out of this?

I can’t escape like this.

My palms tinged with blood and slipped upon the handle of the shield. The shield felt incredibly flimsy, the metal threatening to bend and break at any given time. This shield will not be able to do much for me this time. Not against Axel. I clenched my teeth again, facing towards the fiery dark cloaked opponent, my eyes reflecting the intensity of the fire. I scoffed angrily, already feeling my face heat up in irritation and embarrassment.

It only brought the memories back from Castle Oblivion. Standing against one another in an eerily fashion. Back then, it was just Axel’s way of toughening the newbie up. Make her be able to stand on her own two feet. I thought I was going to die the last time I fought against him—I’m sure he thought the same way too.

“It it’s a fight you want—” I exhaled sharply and spread my arm out. I could feel my hand begin to numb and spread over the handle of the shield, coating and frosting the shield into a weapon of ice. I narrowed my eyes as I could see Axel narrows his in retaliation, swinging his chakrams in preparation for this fight. “—it’ll be a fight you get!”

Axel seemed to grin in agreement and I slammed my body to the ground, avoiding the whirl of flames. I began to counter with my Blizzaga spells, hoping I could still make an escape through. His fire walls were too hot though, the ice was melting on contact with them. I didn’t even have enough time to focus on icing a way out with Axel leaping around and throwing his chakrams with such lethal precision.

“Get back!”

I whirled backwards, nearly getting my leg ripped off by one of the spinning chakrams as the fire raged wildly along it. I staggered on my feet, feeling the increasing pain growing on my left leg and I hoped that it could last for the remainder of this fight. If not, then I’m done for.  Sweat coated my face as I focused on Axel, seeing him leaping backwards into the flames. My head snapped around, trying to figure out where he was. I could barely breathe as the smoke and fire filled the area. If I didn’t move fast enough, I was going to be toast.

I hurled myself forward as a wall of flames appeared from behind and I seethed loudly, scanning the labyrinth of flames. I examined the fire before I could hear a shift and turned, immediately falling back as flames jumped out towards me. I grunted, rolling in another direction as Axel appeared once again from the flames. Shit!

I pulled the shield from my back, swinging it up as Axel flew once more from the flames and swung one of his chakrams down. I gritted my teeth, flinging the shield up, bashing that chakram away as another one came down on me. I went on defense mode as the chakrams kept wildly swinging, smashing down upon the shield. Sweat poured down my face as I continued to block, swinging the shield in attempt to gut him, to somehow hit and disarm him. I slammed the shield into his chakram, feeling a crack within the icy shield and I inhaled sharply. Axel’s grin grew predatory and swung the other chakram down. I gritted my teeth, burying my face into my sleeve when the ice shattered, eliminating the best defense the shield had. I gasped sharply and slammed my palm on the inside.

“Blizzaga!” The ice spiked from the shield, nearly encasing my arm and Axel’s face. The assassin speedily dodged, yet he was only armed with one of his chakrams.

I grunted, swinging my arm out of the straps and dropped the shield to the ground. The ice completely merged over the two weapons and I hissed at the stupidity of allowing it to happen. Now I need to somehow get the shield out of there—I snapped my attention upwards to find Axel lunging forward.

“Not so fast!” Axel sneered.

No fucking way.

I leapt back when the assassin nearly slashed my chest open, merely cutting the metal chains off the dark coat. I ducked and swayed, barely able to keep dodging his attacks. Axel was too focused on finishing me off to even stop and reclaim his other chakram. I stepped back and felt the intense heat touch behind my head and I snapped back to look, finding the scorching barricade there. I snapped my attention forward, finding Axel winding his arm with his chakram whirling. Double crap. How am I going to dodge this?!

“This is what you get for not taking me on with your full strength!” Axel snapped. He was going to strike me, probably shredding my stomach or my neck. Either way, high possibility I was going to be dead. I needed to distract him. I staggered at something to avoid getting my neck sliced off. I need to get back to my shield again. I need to move now!

“I don’t have the keyblade!” I suddenly blurted. Axel seemed to flinch slightly which gave me enough of a chance to lunge downwards, rolling past his legs and start stumbling forward. Axel halted in front of the flames, whirling around as his eyes narrowed greatly.

“ _What_ did you say??” Axel demanded. I panted, hurling myself up. I danced carefully with this new opportunity, surprised that he was actually listening to me right now.

“I don’t have the keyblade anymore,” I repeated, holding my hands open to him, “I would be fighting you with all I have if I did.”

“You think I’m going to fall for that?!” Axel hurled his chakram at me as I lunged to the side, my sights still set upon the frozen shield. I brought my attention back to Axel, a faint curiosity whirling inside me. He stopped for a split second to hear me out—that has got to mean something.

I swallowed roughly, taking the uneasy distance between the shield, Axel, and I. I stepped briefly out of line and the next second Axel’s emerald orbs darted to the side, catching my gaze. My eyes widen and I darted towards the shield only to skid to a stop, falling over when Axel cut across with a line of fire. I groaned angrily, slamming my fist to the ground and picked myself up, snapping my attention around. I swear, I’m going to freeze him to the ground. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Axel tormented, hurling the chakram towards me.

I shouted; hurling myself against the ground once more. The fire dance uncontrollably as I continued to tuck and roll, clenching my teeth as the blades cut through my arm, my legs, my sides. He won’t listen to me even when I told him I don’t have the keyblade. He’s not going to listen to me at all. I need to get his attention somehow. What is going to catch this Nobody’s attention if I already told him I didn’t have the keyblade?

_‘He listened to me once—maybe it can work again! Just start spit-firing! Tell him everything!’_

I heaved loudly, spinning in place as Axel returned from the wall of fire, brushing off the specks of ember from his coat. I grimaced, taking a step back and gestured beckoningly. _This better freaking work._ Axel’s mask wore down, his lips twitching in annoyance. He fired up another round of strikes, the chakrams aiming dangerously close to my feet. I kept leaping back and focused on leaping back towards the weapons. Yet Axel easily caught on, cutting across the field with flames and disappeared into the walls of fire. That’s when I spun around, watching where he could come next.

 “Axel, remember when you asked how I knew what happened to my friends in Castle Oblivion?” I called out, dodging the relentless fire that roared through my path. “I knew about it—long before we even stepped foot in Castle Oblivion!”

“Who are you trying to play?” Axel demanded, slashing forward. I bent and rolled out of the way of another line of fire. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best thing to start off with. I scratched my head roughly, attempting to formulate another secret. Something that would gain Axel’s trust. Something—anything.

“I knew about Marluxia and the others being traitorous to the Organization, your mission to dispose of everyone! To give Saix the rise through the ranks!” I leapt back as his chakram cut across, catching hold of the damn weapon and hurling it back to him, actually blasting him back with a bit of his own magic, “Flare told me during our time in Castle Oblivion, it’s why she was so keen as using me. Flare wanted to stay alive—she knew the other members wanted her dead—she knew Marluxia was going to send you to finish her off!”

I kept a cautious eye on Axel, noticing his face consorted in confusion. I stepped back watching as he took a minute to adjust himself and I took the chance, grabbing hold of the frozen edge of the chakram, shaking it wildly. Oh come on, you should’ve melted already!

“Nelixad and Dekrex were favored over her—everyone knew that.” Axel suddenly called out, glaring, “I was thinking for the Organization—someone was going to need to replace Vexen after I finished him off.”

I gritted my teeth, holding the weapons closely to the flames when Axel’s free chakram whizzed through the air, smashing into the collection of weapons. I landed on my rear, groaning as the frozen chakram clattered in front of me, my shield flipping back a good couple of feet away. I inhaled sharply, collecting Axel’s chakram and turned, finding I probably further enraged the assassin.

“That would’ve been the case before you met Roxas, before you met Sora! Something changed—you must have noticed it!” I raised the chakram, luckily blocking Axel’s and whirled back, my fingers twitching from the sudden weight change. Jeezes these were pretty heavy. Axel caught his chakram aggressively, frowning at the situation at hand.

“What do you think you know?” Axel demanded once more, his eyes shallow and dark, “What makes you think you can validate anything???”

“I’m trying to explain to you the truth of what I know—because you deserve to know the truth of what happened!” I shouted over the roaring flames, “Ever since Castle Oblivion, I’ve been torn to stop everything that was going to lead to this point! I finally saw how much it meant for the Organization members to get their hearts back—to have a life!”

I stepped back, finding the wall of flames pressed behind and I snapped my attention back, finding Axel was hurrying forward. I gritted my teeth and tossed his chakram at him. It awkwardly spun in the air but it caused Axel to skid and curb to reach for his chakram. I took the chance to generate bolts of electricity, striking at him hard and fast. The open window to grab the shield was prominent and I lunged for it. I rolled, clutching the shield to my chest and hissed; burning my hands upon the hot surface.

“Flare knew something was wrong though—everything behind what the Organization was after. After Saix ascended up the hierarchy, she noticed and went to investigate. The further she dug, the more she knew the Organization’s goals were nothing but lies! ”

“You don’t think I know? You don’t think I figured Flare went after you for questions?!” His voice rumbled, the beginning of an inferno eruption inevitable.  The accusation was a knife plunging into my chest—probably what he imagined happened to Flare.

I swallowed roughly, gripping the chakram lamely and darted my attention across, catching sight of the shield. The flames flicked and danced across the grass, smoke now beginning to catch into my lungs. I coughed hoarsely, keeping a rigid stance.

“She was in pain Axel—she went into the Dark Realm! You know people lose their minds in there!” I called out. Axel seemed too preoccupied with ignoring me, leaping back into the flames. I gritted my teeth, spinning around, “Flare was looking for answers and she found it. Something—someone from her past!”  

I ducked down when Axel leapt back out, cutting right above my head. I forced the shield forward to slam against his chest and brought it up to smack his jaw. I continued this relentless assault against the nobody, hearing every slam drum in my ears and numb out his aggressive growls and barks of pain. I stumbled back, exhaling roughly when I noticed the flames vanished, a fresh breeze blowing past my tangled locks.

“Look—I can see what you’re trying to do,” Axel suddenly was walking behind me, acting completely casual compared to how he was moments ago. The unsettling change of his personality brought me back to Castle Oblivion, acting as a friend one minute, an assassin the other.

“But it’s not going to work—you think if you keep trying to distract me I’ll feel sympathy or something.” Axel lifted his chakrams once more, his emerald eyes narrowing into daggers, “I’m this close to my wits end, so I’m going to draw this fight to a close. No more of your lies, no more of your fabrications.”

“But Axel—” I lowered the shield, trying to buy time—trying to somehow live through this. I could feel my legs shake from exhaustion and I knew I was getting close to my limit. “Don’t you see what they’re forcing you to do! They’re just getting rid of the ones who’ll get in the way—like myself, like Roxas! Do you think you can keep hiding from the truth!?”

“Finding out the truth doesn’t always work out for the best!” Axel suddenly snapped.

“What makes you so sure about that?! Is it the safety of being in the lie that’s going to help you, Axel?! The truth of the matter is Flare is gone—and soon if the Organization keeps doing what it’s going to do—so are your friends Axel! Everything that you built with these two will be gone!”

That—that might’ve been too much.

Axel’s teeth clenched aggressively, his arms extending out. The flames were condensed this time to his chakrams, spinning widely. He forced them across one another and launched several balls of flames. The shield initially blocked the first one but I had to maneuver quickly away to avoid the others. Axel leapt forward, hurling his chakrams forward, nearly scissoring the path that I was attempting to escape to. The ground began to spark and catch fire, continuing to burn as Axel continued his relentless deadly attacks.

He launched his chakrams once more, this time they purposely swung past me and I had to hurl down to the ground to avoid them when they boomeranged towards my back.

Groaning painfully and pressed my arm against the dirt, I looked up seeing Axel beginning to stalk towards me. That’s when I heard a large crack, Axel even stopped at the sound. I didn’t know where it was coming from but when I looked towards the ground, finding the shadow hovering above me coming increasingly closer, the darkened shadow now intertwined with specks of hellish red. I turned, finding the tree Axel had initially attacked—that’s what was coming down.

I had no time to run.

**********************************

My eye lids flickered, suddenly bringing me back to reality. Smoke fogged my lungs and I was suddenly coughing excruciatingly, gasping for air. Dense, grey smoke danced and curled around me, escaping in desperate wisps up into the sky. Ash coated the tips of my fingers, having clawed holes through my dark gloves. My eyes were cinder blocks, desperately trying to stay awake and scan the area. Fire was consuming the area around me and I couldn’t see where Axel went. 

He must have jumped out of the way when the tree fell—wait the tree!

I groaned, pushing my palms against the ground when I suddenly inhaled sharply, finding my lungs were constricting. I gasped painfully, turning slightly to find a heavy piece of branch had fallen, crushing against my back. I whined, scratching the ground desperately to pull myself out. The black coat clung to the sharp edges of the wood, tugging and taking the piece of the branch with me every inch I crawled.

I groaned, burying my nose into my sleeve to inhale, coughing sharply. The smoke was beginning to consume my lungs and with the branch pinning me to the ground, I wasn’t going to escape the hellfire. The fire was already climbing over the thick trunk, spreading its devious wisps across the large tree, spreading closer and closer towards where I was pinned down.

“Michelle!”

I lifted my head, looking ahead as I caught a bare glimpse of a figure approaching. Yet my attention kept darting to the side, hearing my name being echoed in the distance. It got louder amongst the crackling of wood behind me and I almost couldn’t believe who it was. R-Riku…?

“Well, it looks like you’re pinned down finally.”

I swallowed roughly when Axel was in front of me, resting one of his chakrams upon his shoulder. I gritted my teeth, not daring to look away as he knelt down. I pulled away as much as I could, seething once I felt the weight of the branch continue to crush against my back. I couldn’t feel it, it was growing so numb. It wasn’t helping the fire was approaching ever closer.

“Funny to see you still managed to survive…but yet again, you’ve always seemed to have a knack for it.” Axel commented, a hollow smile consuming his features. It slowly morphed though to a bitter expression as he looked down at me.

“Why is it that you had to go off and cause trouble? Flare and I had our mouths shut about you this whole time. Then you go and kill—”

“Axel, she fell into darkness….I had no choice….and still…..I couldn’t……I couldn’t do it.” I admitted, coughing painfully into my sleeve. “I couldn’t finish her off…she did it. She couldn’t bare…with what was happening to her anymore...”

Axel remained quiet for once, perhaps out of respect of his opponent who was probably going to die—god—was this really it?

“She wasn’t herself anymore Axel and she still managed to tell me in her last seconds to say sorry. Sorry she couldn’t keep the promise she made with you. I don’t know….if she wanted me to let you know….she didn’t even say it aloud….but Axel……please….” I looked up wearily, tears streaming down my ashen cheeks, sniffing heavily, “Don’t lose sight of what you know is right, you can’t let them win. I know….it’s all you’ve ever known…but Roxas and Xion…gave you something so much more. You know it’s real. Please….just don’t forget that…”

I buried my face into the ground, sniffing lightly at the circumstances that surrounded me. The air was growing hotter and hotter, sweat trailing down my temple. My arms shook weakly as I could feel my lungs ache, desperately trying to cling onto whatever clean air I could get. My head began to grow dizzy from the lack of air and I could feel my head begin to drop.

“Please Axel, don’t let us become enemies…..just because that’s what they keep telling us to do…” I said weakly, my eyes beginning to drop, “It’s not always an order to us….we still….have…..choices……” My fingers gripped the ground, desperately trying to move forward again. I couldn’t keep moving though and finally darkness was what swept me away.

**********************************

::Axel's PoV::

She always had a funny way of solving things.

“You think I really have a choice in things like this?” Axel almost expected a response when he saw her eyes were shut, breathes ragged and growing quiet. He frowned at the sight, having hoped she’d find a way around this one. It wasn’t like he taught her how to get out of a fiery mess—it’s what kept her alive this whole time. She remembered his movements from the time in Castle Oblivion, which honestly was impressive.

Axel frowned, now recollecting his options. He had basically accomplished his mission—but at what price?

Flare was gone—consumed by the darkness. There’s no way that Xemnas did not already know about that…and the fact that he’d send Axel himself to finish Michelle off. Did he expect that Axel knew about Michelle being awake this whole time? Was this like the test Marluxia sent him to finish off Vexen?

It was all for an order after all—yet—something about this didn’t sit right with the flaming Nobody. No matter how much he wanted to leave and say a job well done, he knew it wasn’t right. It wasn’t exactly a feeling, not that he remembered, but it felt…wrong.

Everything that was happening—all the drama—betraying his friends’ trust—it was wrong.

_Michelle, you might have done some wrong—but you’re not a bad person._

Axel scoffed, raising his chakram up. He cut across the bark, shattering the heavy log that pinned Michelle’s back down. He picked up the teenager, briefly leaving a trial of new fire to extinguish the old. It was only a matter of time before it died down.

“Jeez, you’re a lot heavier than you look.” Axel grimaced, rubbing his jaw briefly. He moved her to the entrance of the forest, settling her down against the wall as the fresh air poured in. Her dark locks covered her face, her arms and legs extended out. It wasn’t going to be long before she was going to be found, that’s for sure.

“You know kid, I wouldn’t have done this normally…” Axel admitted hesitantly, “but sometimes I don’t quite get things memorized.” Axel held a hand out behind him, the dark portal forming immediately. He briefly looked towards her way before turning, stepping into the darkness and disappeared without a trace.


	19. Path to Climb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. 
> 
> Took longer since now I moved on to one state to another, eagerly entering the next chapter of my own life. Wanted to thank you for your patience as I hopefully return to a more normal cycle of work again. Yet here we are, the final chapter of this story. 
> 
> It took an incredibly different turn then what I had originally planned....but I'm happy about it in a strange way. I guess I'll have to see what is next in store when the final arc of this story is created. 
> 
> Thank you for all the support, namely my girlfriend, my inspiration in writing. Thanks honey~
> 
> Until next time~ Tune in for my Fire Emblem story that will not get it's chapters uploaded on two weeks basis. 
> 
> Can't wait.

_“What matters are not the words, the details, or the conclusion, but the journey and the acceptance of your mistakes.”_

 

 

 

 

“Things are quite different this time around.”

_“T-Terra!” A woman’s scream echoed in the frigid darkness, followed by two others._

_The earth beneath shook, exploding mounds of dirt into the air. The land cracked and sprouted towers into the shadowy sky, figures leaping out of the way. A woman’s gasp escaped, stumbling backwards to avoid the detonation of frost that glazed the very spot she stood. A dangerous battle was looming as the sky morphed and thundered._

“I don’t think I formally introduced myself to you. Not since you saw me disappear before you.”

 

_Jolting forward, a battle commenced with sparks escaping from the sturdy rod. The rod glistened before forcing the opponent off, the wielder taking sharp leaps to the opponent. The sharp spins and aggressive shouts grew as the owner of the rod continued the relentless assault. The opponent was skilled, easily blocking the attacks and caught underneath the rod, smacking it against the owner’s face._

_The assault was quick and efficient, easily knocking the rod wielder several yards away, tumbling and slamming to a stop against the rough dirt floor._

_“A rod….what…I don’t use….those movements….Flare?”_

“I won’t tell you yet. There’s things you need to learn of first.”

 

“ _Aq-ua! Ven!”_

_Cliffs moaned and cracked, viciously crumbling apart in the barren desert. Keyblades scattered along the land, rusted and shattered, carried off by a vicious typhoon that whirled deadly towards whoever stood in its path. An armored warrior crossed the woman’s vision, casting a dangerous fire spell that exploded in front of a dark mask’s way. The dark cerulean armed warrior leapt back, dodging several blasts of spells that came its way._

_Another warrior adorned in pthalo blue and orchid plates shot out a bolt of lightning into the typhoon of keyblades, swirling like a current in a wire. The masked figure, clad in a vein like organic black and white bodysuit, easily avoided the barrage of lightning, escaping on top of the keyblade maelstrom._

“Maybe, I’ll let you in on a secret. Since we’re going to be spending /so/ much time together.”

 

_The cerulean warrior came to the rod wielder’s assistance, getting her from the ground with a gentle grip. The female warrior’s cracked helmet reflected off of the other, the extensive damage taken to the gear. Both were quickly taken aback when the ground exploded nearby, the tornado of keyblades whirling into the air. The warrior of orchid crashed closely beside, writhing as the helmet shattered revealing layers of deep-sea blue hair. A woman was hidden underneath, dirt and scratches battering along her cheeks as her pink lips pressed together painfully._

_The owner didn’t hesitate to turn to her comrade, catching sight of the tallest of the four getting caught in the blitz of the keyblade attack. With a beckoning of her palms, she lowered down and caught his approaching foot, hurling him up to the cliff side. The fallen warrior raised her keyblade, ejecting a bright ray of light across the darkened clouds._

“There’s a reason you don’t have the keyblade. Or at least— _rehzzzz_ —”

 

_The armed warrior suddenly glanced up, caught off guard when lightning rained down to where she stood._

_“AH!” The owner was clearly a woman by the extent of her shout. Her fingers twitched violently, her entire body rattling from the attack. She collided with the ground and laid twitching, attempting to catch her breath. The blades spiraled and swirled in the thundering sky, the masked figure riding along it to reach the top of the cliff. When she was able to move, she knelt up and threw her shattered helmet to the side, dark hair cascading down to her armored chest. Her palms were exposed and a flash of light emerging from wisps of dark chains._

_A keyblade._

“ _My keyblade_. I need to show you something.”

 

_The blade fragmented into shards of light, escaping away from the lecherous dark tendrils that spore from the cracks of the gauntlets. Tanned hands gripped upon the cracked surface, suppressing the wisps of darkness from fleeing further._

“There’s a far greater enemy out there.”

 

_The dark smog escaped, shattering the metal plates apart, exposing dark veins that traveled in rivets and circles along her wrist. The woman seethed painfully, her arms quaking and throbbing from the exposure. She gripped her wrist, looking up to find a shadow figure present before her. Tall in structure and moderately built, dark locks curled in front of his face, barely covering over the wicked blood orbs that met her gaze._

_For a moment, his presence changed from the red orbs to blue, flicks of white locks bent to the side._

“So, why don’t we work together?”

“You want to protect your friends? You’re going to need all the strength you can get.”

 

_Darkness leached and began to haze the vision, the figures morphing away into the darkness. The land followed dangerously as she took steps back._

 

“If you want that strength, you’re going to need to unlock—zzz”

 

_A catacomb of ice, darkness lingered from the mere presence. Hands intertwined within the frozen structure._

 

_“empleh—Find me—nur”_

_An agonizing wail escaped from the shadows, calling for help._

_Save_

_Save me_

_Save her_

 

“Find the answers to your questions.”

_Silver strands flowed against the wind, the caucasian woman turning around. Juliana—reaching a hand down to the young warrior, smiling softly and offering her the chance to use her skills for greatness._

_“Juliana….knew….Flare? Her Somebody?”_

“You may not remember, but there’s a chance you may. Listen carefully—”

**********************************

My body shifted and twisted, gripping upon the woolen sheets. Pulling myself away from the dreams, my eyes snapped open. A trail of sweat trailed down my temple, my chest heaving and lurching from catching my breath. My knuckles ached and sure enough, my body was beginning to respond to the pain, spreading thinly across my arms and mostly to the center of my back. I groaned at the sharp intervals of pain, rolling my head weakly to the side.

I blinked wearily, the edges of my vision still blurred. Slowly, it began to focus and sharpen, catching the dust that gently hovered in the rays of light. The white linen flapped and curled in itself, revealing brief glimpses of the painted sky dyed with a deep flaming orange. The thought of that fiery image brought me back to my reality that I was actually alive.

I sat up abruptly, taking a moment to assess what had happened. Flare—that battle—no—what—Axel—where exactly am I?

I stared carefully around, taking in to notice I was out of my dark coat merely wearing a plain white shirt. My arms had been covered in gauze, carefully tied to not constrict movement. The black pants were still on, torn and burned from the extensive battle with Axel. I swallowed roughly, forcing myself through the pain to scan around the room. My journals were stacked neatly on the desk with my phone and D.S carefully placed beside of them. Somebody was in my room; that much was already certain. Normally my items were all over the place, scattered between hiding under my bed to somehow hiding between the shelves of the library and hanging out in Namine’s room. Things were organized much to my relief, yet the brief chargin raced to question what had happened again for things to be so peaceful.

I licked my cracked lips, stretching my arms briefly over to my knees. The pain festered as I continued moving, sharpening each time I stretched. I started growing numb to it thankfully, taking the opportunity to swing my legs over the side of the bed.

Memories began to plague and fog my focus, licks of flames erupting from the corner of my vision. The fire breathing around my neck, the smoke consuming my lungs, my nails desperately clawing into the ground in an attempted to unpin myself from under the thick bark that had fallen on me. Then that dream…

The dark tundra, the barren wasteland that was covered with keyblades….thousands of keyblades of all kinds. It sounded—it looked—like the story that Yen Sid described to me. I can only imagine that could’ve been it as Yen Sid himself said what occurred a hundred or more years ago; the keyblade war.

My chest rattled and I gripped upon the window ledge, digging my nails upon the wooden surface. It felt too real….to see those who were fighting….to see those red orbs again.

I shivered at the mere thought, exhaling heavily. I drummed my fingers, attempting to draw my attention back to the room.

What was going on now? What was I seeing? What did it mean?

I rubbed my face, resting my forehead against the plaster.

I had thought I answered so many questions, but I was only left with more. I wanted to know what it meant…but I was afraid to figure out what it would mean in the end. After all the pain I caused already. To Axel, to Xion, to Flare….

The door cracked open and I didn’t bother turning around, my mind was too preoccupied with the jumbling inquiries. A firm hand rested upon my shoulder, squeezing lightly, “Michelle.”

That voice….

Goosebumps trailed up my arms, my blood freezing once I recognized it. I turned hastily in place, my defense kicking in. The tall figure towered over me, clad in the all too familiar dark cloak. Yet, underneath the shadow of the hood I was met with golden orbs, narrowing directly at me.

“Michelle…looks like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” The voice greeted, easing the sense of anxiety that was running on haywire. My knuckles lowered to my sides and I squinted briefly, almost taken aback by the casual atmosphere. It had been some time…but it wasn’t what I had expected to see so soon.

“R-Riku?”

**********************************

The fire cackled and cracked, a warm breeze easing into the den. The fire pit had been alit and the two of us had settle into the room for privacy. My fingers brushed along the mug hypnotically, feeling the small cracks within the clay. I was crossed legged on the carpet floor, sitting generously far away from the fire as possible. It didn’t feel comforting anymore to be so close to them.

I sighed briefly, looking to the side to find Riku closing the door behind him, his hood lowered and finding long silver hair pouring down his newly broaden back. Turning to face me, it was hard to believe that my friend was still inside this man—the man that looked at me right now.

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.

My thoughts were still tangled and lost, warped into all sorts of directions. I couldn’t blame them for trying to reason with me this was indeed a danger. Yet when I looked at him—I didn’t feel the dangers as I did at the end of our last journey, no, I still felt that bond with him. Riku turned, tucking his hair in and casted the hood over his head to shield away his new identity. He strode across the room, settling a chair a few feet away from myself. Taking the seat, he allowed the silence to fester and continue.

“I…Were you the one to save me?” I questioned.

“I was,” Riku merely responded.

I shifted uncomfortably, my thoughts drifting to the mindless movements of brushing along the cup. I hoped…..this would’ve been easier. Easier to talk about or even mention. The idea of my mind plaguing me was beginning to make me restless. The tips of my fingers stung slightly when I brushed against the cup too hard, cuts still healing from the fight. I sighed softly as I peeked over to the shadow underneath the hood. I had to let him know, I didn’t want to hold back any unforeseen damages I could cause.

“Riku, I know I’ve already said this before….but now…I really don’t know what to do,” I began softly, earning his gaze, now returned to their warm teal gleam.

“What do you mean?” Riku asked.

“I’ve—for this whole adventure I’ve been lost. I’ve been trying to do what is right, what everyone had told me is right—its only thing I’ve known to do. The oppositions I’ve faced from others….the wrongs I’ve wrought…the things I’ve seen….I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Riku seemed to sit up now, his fingers resting upon his bent knees, his gaze hardening ever so slightly as I swallowed under the pressure. It began to build up in my chest, the thoughts beginning to constrict my thoughts of the battle fields, the crimson eyes locked over me.

“I don’t think I can go with them right now….” I admitted softly, looking briefly back up, “With Sora, Donald, and Goofy.”

Riku remained silent as I rested the cup upon the carpet, brushing and tugging at the curled lint. My thoughts were slowly returning back to the dream again. The storm uncurling and the bright light of spells escaping into the sky. It was hard to keep my mind in the current time.

“I think I need some time alone to figure things out. To truly understand what is happening to me...” I paused softly, brushing my knuckles. “I’m still going to look out for them……just like I promised you.”

“Michelle,” Riku started with formidable chords I hoped would answer this silent prayer I was asking to him, “Do you believe you have done wrong?”

“I don’t know……I really don’t know, because everything I did, everything I do….I’m just following what I’ve been told to do. Following what inevitably happens. It’s like, how do you move on in a world such as that?”

Riku’s crystal eyes scanned mine, but his answer was nothing sweet, “You don’t move on.”

“What?” I countered back.

He replied just the same, “You don’t move on from that. You don’t move on from what you’ve done, because they’ve already been done. You don’t forget your mistakes, because one day, you’re going to be lying in bed, and replaying everything all over again, and asking yourself ‘what could I have done differently’?”

The elder teen lifted his eyes, and were staring at a distant scene just above my head, “And when you lay there, and you lose track of time, you realize that all that thinking, of judging yourself was a waste.”

“A waste?”

His eyes glued to mine, and seeped into me a knowledge I knew of, but was never able to put into words, “You’re wasting your time asking yourself all these questions, Michelle, or else you’ll become like him...”

“Like who?”

“Like Ansem.”

I felt the shiver cross down my spine, briefly recalling when I saw Riku as Ansem. The brief moments….were they the signs of him fighting his inner darkness all this time. It’s scary to imagine being lost in your own thoughts can turn you into exact the person you feared to become. I frowned at the imagery, casting my gaze towards the cracking flames beside.

I sighed softly, “You’ve been fighting your own battles for a while too….”

“That’s not the point Michelle, I’ve accepted what path I have to go down….I’ve accepted who I am.” The words weren’t easy to handle, coming across as ember to reignite against my scars. I frowned at the idea, a spark of hope burning in my throat.

“But what if it doesn’t have to be that way….it can be better, can’t it?” I asked.

“Well, it could be, if you make it that way.” He merely answered.

I settled slightly, the demons finally drifting away from my thoughts. Silence finally replaced the agonizing thoughts away and I slouched slightly, almost relieved. Silence engulfed the room again as Riku’s gaze reached over to me again, focused.

“Do you think you can do the same?”

“……..It’s not going to be an easy road……is it?” I brushed my fingers along the ground. I heard Riku scoff softly and I looked back over to him immediately.

“I wouldn’t be asking you if that was the case. Michelle, if you’re serious about this, you’re going to need whatever consequences will follow. Are you going to be happy with the answers you’ll find in the end or whatever you want to achieve?” Riku’s gaze lifted towards the window and I followed, watching the flicker remains of the sunset, “That’s up to you to decide, not me. I can only help you so much before you have to pick and choose your own path.”

I looked back to him, pressing my lips firmly together. He was right. There was a lot of things I didn’t know how to handle—wondering if they were worth trying to go out and solve them on my own. Would it be for the best to do such a thing?

To accept my fate….and accept the path I choose to walk now.

I hummed softly, looking towards my hands. No longer did I have the keyblade’s help which…honestly wasn’t so much of a problem. It was upsetting…I thought…my self-worth was tied along with the mythical weapon. It was cruel to do such a thing…but…for a while I believed it to be so. Now that I’ve had time to settle the fate…I know I wasn’t exactly useless. I had strength….I just needed to hone on my abilities now.

I chuckled softly earning Riku’s raised brow.

“I didn’t expect you to be laughing over something like this?”

“Isn’t that what Sora would do?” Riku’s brows furrowed as a smile softly escaped my lips, my stiffed cheeks aching from the unfamiliar expression. “He’d always….smile….try to make others laugh even when things seemed to be going wrong. I think…I had forgotten about that all this time.”

Riku brief smile expelled, “Yeah, he’s always like that.”

I stood, taking the mug in my hands as I approached Riku, watching as he stood up in front of my path. “I think….it’s going to take time. That much is true. There’s still some things I need to do though…before I join with them.”

“I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for them then.” Riku reassured and I smiled at the response, “Though, what are you going to do about DiZ?”

The mere mention of DiZ made my expression drop, the irritably memory gnawing at the back of my mind. I was making plans and was going to forget about my supposed employer.

“Oh, well, I’m sure he doesn’t want to see my face again anytime soon. So…maybe it’s best if I just go now.” I scratched my cheek lamely as Riku looked at me, his lips quirking. I could already hear him scolding me about how it was probably not a good idea to leave off like that. Honestly, I didn’t care much at this point anymore.

I smiled, waving a nonchalant hand as I settled the cup upon the arm chair, “Thank you Riku…” I reached over and hugged him tightly, burying my face into the crook of his neck. His shoulders tensed and I could feel his arms sway awkwardly beside him. Slowly, his arms wrapped around the center of my back, brushing gently. It still stung in pain but…it was nice.

“Be careful Michelle, I better see you again with Sora and his friends at some point.” Riku pulled away, gazing down at me. I smiled reassuringly, nodding as I stepped back.

“I will, I promise.”

**********************************

Sunlight scattered across the maroon sky, each cloud glittering and sparkling from the glass windows. The cart shook to a stop amongst the steel railing, a whistle steaming into the air as the wheels rolled to a stop. The train conductor announced the next schedule of trains departing for Sunset Terrance, the beach, and other towns I didn’t bother listening for.

The pale ticket rested on my lap, threatening to glide away as the next roar of a train entered into the station. I waited, knowing that the train did not come all the time. There could be days when it would not show, it well deserved its name for being the Ghost Train; one of the seven wonders of Twilight Town.

Civilians passed by me, not even addressing my existence but as a wall flower in disguise. I was relieved to no longer wear the dark cloak anymore, shouldering the past into my backpack. It was filled with very little, having tossed the D.S into the fountain, allowing for the evidence to shatter and break. Burying that into the woods, I knew it was all for the better.

I had said all my good byes, I hugged Namine so tightly I thought I would be the one that couldn’t breathe in the end. It wasn’t easy to let go, it wasn’t easier when I had let go to find Xion waiting. I couldn’t say enough to erase my actions. I think she faintly understood, knowing she was about to make the same actions as I had. I had only hope she wouldn’t fall into the same despair as I had.

“Boarding for Sunset Terrance, please show your ticket at the door!”

I made my amends, even if I knew I could not be so easily forgiven. It was going to take time……time for myself to heal and for the others.

Wheels screeched, hissing as I lifted my attention to find a new train entering into the station. The violet train stood apart from the other dully colored trams, its star shaped windows glowing brightly from the reflection of the sun. The wizard hat adorned with stars and moons stood atop of where the exhaust should have been, adding to the mystifying details of the train.

Well, here’s my ride.

I stood up, brushing my knees as I took my back. My chest rattled and ached anxiously, my mind in a whirl of the step I was about to take. This is it. There’s no turning back.

_Are you ready?_

I exhaled softly, stepping forward to the sliding door. No one would await me from here on.

_You can walk, can’t you?_

No turning back from this point on. This….this is my story.

I stepped forward into the empty tram, gazing slightly around to the empty seats. I hadn’t expected the refreshing breeze past my cut locks, my hair now curling to my shoulders. I walked forward, taking a seat as the doors remained opened for a few more minutes. They closed shortly after, the engine rumbling to life as the scenery slowly began shifting. I turned to watch as the train went into motion, slowly exiting from the station.

This was going to be my last sunset here for a very long time. I relished watching it for the time that I could, watching how each building seemed to glow ethereally. The skyline grew brighter and brighter till it washed away into a starry sky, glittering brightly in the horizon. I felt my entire body shake from anticipation, finally realizing that I was really doing this.

It seemed so strange, after all I had seen, all I had done.

This was going to finally be it.

The train slowly came to a stop and my feet were driven by instinct to stand up, walking robotically out the tram. The tram floated momentarily at the end of the glowing track before vanishing into sparks of light, glittering off into the void.

I began to head over, my bag swung over my shoulder as I began to round towards the door.

My brow lifted up slightly, seeing a rather large person standing in front of the doorway, peering inside the cracked doors. I didn’t expect anyone to be here right now. Yet judging by the large body, strapped with armor colored in shades of blue and purple overtop a red, short-sleeved shirt with a vertical pink stripe descending from the neck. His pants are also navy blue morphing down to purple with two enormous pouches on either front side. I honestly didn’t expect to find Pete hiding out here so early.

A devious instinct played along as I reached where he was standing, watching as his face was peering through the small cracked open door.

“Hey, what are you up to?” I asked, earning Pete’s cat like ears to perk up.

Pete chuckled loudly, not once turning back to see who was actually talking to him, “I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this tower is as big and tough as they say. Word is that he’s a real powerful sorcerer.”

“Really? A sorcerer?” I repeated, flattering my eyelashes innocently.

“Yuuup! Which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me!” Pete boosted.

I pressed a hand over my lips, snickering faintly, “You’re gonna ask him?”

“Hahaha!” Pete laughed loudly, slapping his knee as he shook his head, peering through the doorway again. “No, see, it don’t matter how tough he is now—once he’s a Heartless, he’ll do as I say!”

A heartless you say. You’re really going to turn Master Yen Sid, into a heartless?

Pete, if you actually managed to do such a thing, I think you would be considered a higher rank villain than even Maleficent. That would be saying something, but thankfully, he’s not sharp enough.

“Gee, you know, that sounds like a great idea, but you know, you got to start smaller than that! Getting a powerful sorcerer like Yen Sid is considered crazy by most.” I pointed out, heading up the steps and patted his back. “I admire your conviction that he will change though, and you know what, I’ll go into the castle to check for you!”

“Huuuh? Really?? You would?” Pete turned, looking up before looking down and actually noticing me. I smiled charmingly, patting his back once more.

“Yup! Free of charge. If you don’t see me comeback, just keep waiting, the sorcerer probably hasn’t turned into a heartless yet.”

“Well! Thanks pipsqueak!” He opened the door fully and I slipped under, giving a two finger salute to him.

“No problem,” Once that door closed behind me, I rolled my eyes shaking my head wildly. “Jeezes, he’s going to be waiting for ages.”

I climbed the first flight of stairs, my bag bumping my shoulder before I finally pushed those doors open. My mouth dropped, seeing the castle inside had changed. The inside had changed from when I last was here. It twisted and turned as I climbed up the stairs, finding I was no longer alone in here. Heartless lingered at every other corner.

I had hesitated at first to fight them, almost reacting with taking the keyblade out. Yet when I realized, it was quick to switch off with magic. Lightning escaped from the tips of my fingers as I continued traveling up. Higher and higher up the castle. My mind was growing dizzy over the sheer thoughts that were slowly plaguing my mind.

It’s okay, it’s okay.

It’s okay to think about it.

I sighed softly when I reached the wooden door. I tenderly knocked upon the frame, waiting patiently when it slowly cracked open. It opened fully and I was not met with an immediate greeting. When I had entered, I found Yen Sid gazing outside his window, most likely observing Pete’s meddlesome actions. He’s going to be here for a long time at this rate.

“You’re back sooner than I expected, Michelle.” Yen Sid observed, remaining stationary while I closed the door behind me. I walked further into the room, resting my hands upon the table. I caught Yen Sid glancing from the corner of his eye, “Is there something troubling you to have come all this way to see me?”

I squeezed my belongings, settling it to the ground and reached for the book that remained on his desk. I flipped open to the pages he had shown me before. This was it.

Yen Sid turned, his expression growing curious as I met his gaze, determined on the path I was about to embark upon.

“Yen Sid…..I need some answers.”

 

 

 

*CUE CLICHÉ KH SIGN*

 

 

 

YES, THIS IS THE END. HAHAHHA.

Thank you all for being patient -w- Hehehhehehehehe. I can’t believe I finished this. I can’t believe it still. I hope this is good. I hope it’s good. I hope you’ll join me next time for the next story. It’ll most likely be the final one with all new original content meaning better writing. Yaaaaay. So, thank you for all of those who read this.

Until next time.

 

 

 

 

*SECRET ENDING*

 

 

 

 

Grass crunched underneath russet boots, crossing fields upon fields that stretched miles and miles. A hood tucked over the being’s head, casting a shadow upon the lean face. A sword hanged along the belt, the person’s hips swaying sassily. The person strode confidently onto a pathway, overlooking a small town coasted with flowers of all colors.

Stopping upon the edge of the pathway, a smirk began to emerge from the shadows.

“It’s great…to be out again.”

**Author's Note:**

> All right, so this is the sequel to my first Kingdom Hearts story, Great Stuck in a Game. This one will sort of go along for a bumpy ride as it does deal with more serious notes of depression, angst, morality, and what is worth fighting for: all things i was dealing with at the time of writing for this. This is largely based off of an idea of what was happening the whole time DiZ and Namine were taking care of Sora before Riku eventually joined them. Even in 358/2 Days it was largely undiscovered except a few hints here and there. This story I'm hoping to do twice a week since this work is....fairly better than my prior one. I don't have to edit as much for this. This was a story I had on Quizilla before it shut down as well but for anybody who might've recognized this work from the site, be warned, there's some things that have changed. Without further ado, I hope you all enjoy the story and what it has to lead onto.


End file.
